Customer Reviews

Rose Cottage

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

After the truly awful "The Prince and the Pilgrim" I really hesitated to read this one as I felt Mary Stewart was past her prime and had lost it. This book, however, is a mixed blessing.

It starts out well, much in the manner of her earlier suspense novels which I much admired and enjoyed (and still do, I re-read them regularly even now, 30 years since I first read one). However about 2/3 of the way through the books it peters out to a very mundane ending.

I would rate the book 4 stars for the beginning and 1-2 stars for the ending, so gave it 3 overall as an average.

I love Mary Stewart books and this one I enjoyed just as much as all her others. My all time favorite is Touch Not the Cat, but I read the Rose Cottage in one night straight. I stayed up until 5:00 in the morning, it was just too good to put down. From the setting of small town life and the diverse characters Stewart creates to the suspense of the mystery of lovely Kathy's mother, I had a lot of fun with this book.

I was engrossed from Chapter 1. It wasn't as dangerously dramatic or violently romantic as her other books (all of which I've enjoyed, so far), but it had drama, it was romantic. The story was beautifully written, realistically conveyed; the plot gracefully woven, not cluttered. All the things we seem to need in our books and films these days, romance, scandal, suspense, deceit, death... were there, and in their place, not exploded to overwhelming proportions. I recognised some of the people she described, most of us have known similar, in our own spheres. Sometimes you want a comfortable read, but nothing too dull... and this is the book for it.

I think I have everything written by Mary Stewart--at least I try. She so vividly pictures everything for the reader that one feels one is right there in that world. I keep watching for any of her books that I might not have and any new ones.

The year is 1947. Kate Herrick is a young World War II widow. She barely knew her husband, but that hasn't stopped others from paying their respects. She has sought a new life in London. But then her grandmother calls one day. Could Kate go to the Rose Cottage and retrieve some papers? Kate remembers the Rose Cottage. It is one of the cottages at the English estate where her grandparents and aunt worked as servants. The Brandons, the estate owners, have always trusted her grandmother and have let her keep the cottage. Now Gran is in the hospital, nothing serious, or so she says, but is adamant about getting some documents from the cottage. There is just one problem: the documents are missing. The search for those papers unveils a web of lies, secrets, and all of sorts of sinister twists that Kate could have never envisaged. At least there is tall and handsome Davey to help her uncover the mysteries around her...

Published in 1997, this is one of Mary Stewart's final efforts. The Rose Cottage isn't quite as good as The Ivy Tree or Nine Coaches Waiting, but it is a wonderful romantic suspense novel full of the atmospheric gothic elements that I enjoy and that could be expected from this author. It is a fast read, in first-person narrative and good historical aspects centered on post-war England. The secondary characters are great. The heroine is Stewart's special brand of courageous and naïve found in all of the novels I've read so far. Davey is also Stewart's standard alpha male. The twists and turns are well woven and developed -- better than most romantic suspense novels written by today's authors. All in all, The Rose Cottage is an enjoyable read. However, I'll stick to Stewart's older efforts from now on. I still have My Brother Michael and look forward to reading it soon.

Rose Cottage is the story of a young widow's quest for information about her family and very origins. Kate, a war widow, returns to her childhood home, Rose Cottage, to obtain her ill grandmother's treasures, including papers that may hold a clue to Kate's own history. The story has the earmarks of a Mary Stewart read, but is lacking the richness of the author's early books, such as Nine Coaches Waiting, and Madame Will You Talk?. The novel doesn't refer to early English literature like her previous books do, and the characters aren't as well developed. However, as an avid Mary Stewart fan, I would never say "no" to an afternoon with Mary Stewart!

I love books about old houses and cubby holes that hide secrets. Rose Cottage is that and more. The words Mary Stewart uses to describe the land around Rose Cottage is pure poetry. The village people think the cottage is haunted because of strange lights and sightings that no one can explain. When Kate returns to Rose Cottage to look for some papers she finds much more. Her past becomes clear as she untangles the facts around her family. Rose Cottage is truly enchanted and enchanting.