Asian American Literature Fans

A Review of Jen Wang’s The Prince and the Dressmaker (First Second, 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

So, I’ve been sitting on the reviewing of this title, Jen Wang’s The Prince and the Dressmaker for some time, because I knew I would read it when I needed a break from some of the heavier reading I’ve been engaging in lately. Wang returns with this wonderful addition to graphic novels (after Koko Be Good and taking a stint as an illustrator for another work by Cory Doctorow). Let’s let B&N give us some basics: “Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride—or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia—the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend?”

The first thing to note about this graphic novel is how quickly you can read it. It’s definitely something you’d want to go back and give another go around precisely because it can seem so breezy. The complicated politics are something to consider, especially given the rather hazy historical moment in which the graphic novel is set. Other editorial descriptions and reviews suggest it is a period of time before the “modern age,” but whatever that means, Wang places it in a semi-Feudal society, something that reminded me a little bit of Les Miserables. Class dynamics make it so that Frances’s life is filled with uncertainty, so the chance for her to work for the Prince comes with it the possibility that she can fulfill her lifelong goal to become a fashion designer, but her work for the Prince must stay in the proverbial closet precisely because no one can know that he’s going out on the town in Frances’s designs as Lady Crystallia. The revisionist plot is made most apparent in the conclusion, but you can’t help but cheer for Wang’s resolution: you’ll want the Prince to have his gender-bending exploits be celebrated not simply by himself but by the people who are most important to him.

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Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu