The Dressmaker portrays a small Australian town in which people are reluctant to adapt to these changes and to accept people coming into their communities from outside. Australia also implemented an immigration program during the 1950s and encouraged people from Europe to move there due to fears that Australia could be easily invaded by surrounding countries if its population was too low. These technological changes are referenced in the novel through developments in transport (such as diesel trains replacing steam trains) and farming techniques (such as modern grain silos).

After World War II, which ended in 1945, Australia experienced a long period of economic growth and rapid technological development. The Dressmaker is set during the 1950s in Australia, and it deals with many of the technological and social changes which occurred during this time period. Ham lives in Melbourne with her husband, where she teaches literature at the University of Melbourne. Like The Dressmaker, these novels deal with social relationships and rural life in Australia.

Ham has since published three more novels, Summer at Mount Hope, There Should Be More Dancing, and The Year of the Farmer. The Dressmaker was published in 2000 and was turned into a film, starring Kate Winslet, in 2015. She wrote part of the novel as an assignment for her course but she was inspired by the story and wanted to continue. Ham wrote her first novel, The Dressmaker, in 1996 while she was participating in a writer’s course. Ham then took a job in a care home, where she worked until 2005. Ham studied drama and literature but fell in love with fiction during her studies. After finishing school, Ham traveled abroad before returning to Australia to study at Deakin University in Victoria. Her father was a farmer, and Ham enjoyed an active childhood and spent a lot of time outside helping on the farm. Rosalie Ham was born in the rural province of Jerilderie, Australia.

The dressmaker rosalie ham summary