From postwar Paris to Australia to find love, fashion and freedom
One woman's quest to follow her head, and her heart.
Twenty-six-year-old Frenchwoman Avril Montdidier sails from Paris to Australia with a suitcase and a dream: to start her own fashion business.
1950s Melbourne is very different from the chic atelier of Dior where Avril once worked, but she is determined, courageous and resourceful.
When personal circumstances force her to flee Melbourne, she travels to a cattle station in southern Queensland to work as a governess. It is here Avril meets Tim: the eldest son of her benefactor and heir to Monaghan Station.
Avril must grapple with her twin desires - her love for Tim, who is set to marry someone else, and her yearning for independence.
Praise for A Remarkable Woman
'Delightful! Fashion, French culture and sweeping Australian landscapes - what's not to love! A glorious nod to the strong migrant women who made their mark on the place they chose to call home - Australia. A fascinating look at the burgeoning cultural and fashion scene of Melbourne in the 1950s set against the vast, rugged and magnificent landscapes of Queensland's Darling Downs and the quintessential Australian experience of life on the land.' - Tania Blanchard
'An enchanting, uplifting story of a formidable woman and an impossible choice. A love letter to the pioneering women of the last generation, rich with its historical setting and enticing cast of characters.' - Sally Hepworth Jules Van Mil has lived the fashion life. In her late teens, she modelled for the McGann Agency, doing fashion parades for David Jones, fashion catalogues for Myer and making television commercials. However, she was always happier designing clothes rather than modelling them.
She completed a teaching degree and started her career as a primary teacher. Then she studied fashion, worked as the Assistant Designer for a women's wear label in Sydney during the 1980s, and taught fashion at a tertiary level.
She loves the fashion industry and established, ran and eventually sold her own bridal couture business. Today, she runs fashion workshops and does casual teaching in Sydney. The compelling story of one woman's quest to follow her head and her heart - as she journeys from Paris to Australia to find love, fashion and freedom.
