Rose Cottage (Charnwood Library) [Large Print, Import] [Hardcover]

Mary Stewart (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Charnwood (Large Print); Large Print Ed edition (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708989896
• ISBN-13: 978-0708989890
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,866,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mart Stewart, one of the most popular novelists writing today, was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England. After boarding-school, she recieved a B.A. with first class honors in English Language and Literature from Durham University and went on for her M.A. Later she returned to her own University as a Lecturer in English. She married in 1945. Her husband is Sir Frederick Stewart, who is Chairman of the Geology Department at Edinburgh University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society.Mary Stewart's career as a novelist began in 1954 with the publication of Madam, Will You Talk? Since then she has published fifteen successful novels, including The Last Enchantment, the third book of the magical trilogy about the legendary enchanter Merlin and young Arthur. Her books for young readers, The Little Broomstick (1971) and Ludo and the Star Horse (1974), quickly met with the same success as her other novels. In 1968, she was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. In 1971, the Scottish Chapter of the International PEN Association awarded her the Frederick Niven prize for the The Crystal Cave. In 1974, the Scottish Arts Council Award went to Ludo and the Star Horse.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting and cozy, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Rose Cottage: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book. Very few books make me cry nowadays but this one did. I finished it in about a day and when I was close to the end I said to my husband "I want to own this book." It was the perfect blend of coziness, English countryside, suspense, romance, not to mention the fact that it was touching. My mom is more of the Mary Stewart fan than I am, but that may change now. I remember reading her Merlin trilogy years ago and would highly recommend them. So if you want a little escape to a cozy world that isn't too syrupy-sweet, get this book!

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Halcyon Days, June 23, 2004

By 

Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rose Cottage: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

In this third of what I call the cottage trilogy, Mary Stewart abandons the exotic and returns to what she holds dear and with which she is most familiar, life in the north country. Although many readers of these three novels, "Thornyhold", "The Stormy Petrel" and "Rose Cottage", feel that Stewart's storytelling techniques within them had weakened, I do not find this to be the case. I agree that these storylines do not revolve around a situation involving murder or any other sort of mayhem that provides the focal point of her internationally set so-called suspense thrillers. Here, the first person narrators are in a transitional period where the discovery of self becomes the primary mystery and the gentile north country setting provides part of an answer rather than an exotic backdrop. The lack of alien setting or heart-pumping life and death circumstances does not, however, detract from Ms. Stewart's overwhelming ability to place the reader inside the head of the narrator and see the world from her perspective. The same talented hand that wrote "My Brother Michael" and "This Rough Magic" is ever present in the warm and comfortable scenes depicted within the Rose Cottage. As her uncanny ability to reproduce a scene for all five senses works as powerfully here as in any of her other works, I merely think the novel contains a smaller story, yet maintains the same perfection in storytelling.

Specifically, "Rose Cottage" relates the "coming of awareness" of Kate Herrick, a young woman in a state of transition. Born on the wrong side of the blanket in a small northern village, she faces the future alone in London after the death of her young husband during WWII. Her grandmother's illness calls her back to the village of her childhood to close up her old home and retrieve some beloved items of her grandmother's before the cottage is converted into a rental. Here, in her inimitable way, Stewart flourishes as a writer. Her descriptions are beyond comparison and her ability to introduce us to the strong, plainspoken and unforgettable country personalities that she herself must know and love, locks us into her beloved territory where gardens are all secret and incredibly beautiful, cats and dogs make the most satisfying companions and neighbors, however annoying, make the most wonderful apple pie. Expertly, Stewart manipulates the interplay of the village curiosity with Kate's happy but reluctant past, serving to simulataneously rewelcome Kate into the old fold and to alert her to strange goings-on at the cottage that unbeknownst to anyone relate directly to Kate's questions about herself and her future.

I recommend this simple story to all those who love Stewart's way with words. I listened to this book on unabridged audio and found myself not only well-acquainted with all the adorable quirky characters but quite willing to give-up my semi-urban existence for a life in a lovely rose cottage where the milkman still delivers whole milk in a glass bottle and a cup of tea competently takes the place of any prescription drug.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A girl, a boy, a handsome chap and a mystery in the UK., November 10, 2004

By 

TinTinKyrano "stoicflair" (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rose Cottage: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Sounds familiar, but thats why I like it so much. Delicate flowering fields described so carefully you can feel the breeze and smell the pollen... God bless you!

A strong female lead, Kathy this time around has returned to her roots only to find a jimmied safehole and a long lost friend.

Great character chemistry and funny, too. This is a great read.