Black Roses [Paperback]

Francis Brett Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 2008

Paul Ritchie, of mixed English and Italian blood, spent his childhood and youth in Italy. As a mature painter of sixty, during a Mediterranean cruise his ship calls at Naples, and Ritchie recalls his days there as an art student and his lifestyle supported by casket-making. He remembers his friend Pietro Viva, a medical student, and their landlady Cristina with whom he had shared a heart-breaking passion that blossomed during a cholera epidemic in Naples. The disease had struck all three friends, but Paul alone survived. When his boat leaves, Ritchie has not set foot on the land but has managed to exorcise the ghosts of the past. The story is based on a Naples cholera epidemic remembered by Brett Young's Capri neighbour, Edwin Cerio, whilst the character of Paul Ritchie may well have been based on another Capri resident, D H Lawrence.

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About the Author

Francis Brett Young was born in 1884 at Halesowen, Worcestershire. He read Medicine at Birmingham University before entering general practice at Brixham in 1907. Brett Young served in East Africa in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War I and his experiences are recorded in Marching on Tanga. After the war he and his wife went to live in Capri where a number of novels with African, as well as English, backgrounds were produced. They then returned to England and settled in Worcestershire. During this period he was at the height of his fame and annually produced novels were eagerly awaited. During the Second World War, Brett Young laboured on The Island, his long poem covering the spread of English history from prehistoric times. It was published in 1944 and regarded by him as his greatest achievement. Following a breakdown in his health, the Brett Youngs moved to South Africa, where he died in 1954.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus (January 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755110315
• ISBN-13: 978-0755110315
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,825,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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