She does not know who she can trust and does not even appear to have the support of her Publican mother, who has remained behind in Shy. Emmy becomes the token 'girl from the country', with no one expecting her to rival the other competitors, who are more privileged and well connected. She gets the chance to compete against a number of other girls to become a design apprentice - a position that she aspires to. The main character in the story is Emmaline Watkins or Emmy as she is known, who gets a place in the prestigious Fashion House competition.

The Reformists now want to cut the arts budget and create cheaper fashions but there is a lot of opposition to their plans. The Crown then pass on a large portion of this to the Fashion House which is run by the inimitable Madame Jolene. The main political party in the book are the Reformists Parliament Party, who every year grant an arts budget to the Crown. There is a strong political undercurrent running throughout the story. I find it quite hard to say exactly which genre I would slot it into, as it combines so many different elements: historical, fantasy and even dystopia. It doesn't however fit within the historical fiction genre. The setting of the book is based on aspects of Victorian London with its class structure and rules of etiquette.

It really made me want to pick it up and start reading. The artwork is simple but striking and oh so pretty. I have to admit that the first thing that attracted me to this book was the luscious cover. Autumn Krause's debut novel 'A Dress for the Wicked' combines both fashion and politics in the fictional city of Avon-upon-Kynt.

A dress for the wicked by autumn krause