The Winter Rose - Softcover

Jennifer Donnelly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007221878 ISBN 13: 9780007221875

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

This is another strong, satisfying novel, full of rich storytelling, by the author of the favourite "The Tea Rose". Set in London and Africa in the early days of the twentieth century, "The Winter Rose" introduces some remarkable new characters. India Selwyn-Jones is one of the rare new breed: a lady doctor. Her family, her eligible, ambitious fiance, the male medical establishment all object, but, she insists on defying convention and finds a post in London's East End. There, she meets a gangland boss called Sid Malone. Criminal, he may be, but, he also has a hidden charm, and a devastatingly attractive personality, and when India is called to treat him after a dockside brawl, their friendship becomes more intense. But, Sid Malone is not his real name: he has a past and enemies by the score, including India's determined and ruthless fiance whose intention is to marry into the family money as well as becoming a leading political figure. The stormy, noisy, brawling docklands are a natural home to the political fight as the fledgling Labour Party gets underway, and the struggle for the women's vote becomes more strident. But the East End is also a place for those who have a past to hide, a new beginning to find. And so the complicated strands of betrayal and pretence, of ambition and family, are woven again into a new drama, in a new country. Jennifer Donnelly, author of "A Gathering Light" as well as "The Tea Rose", has a wonderful gift for sweeping storytelling, with a lively cast of vivid characters, rich and detailed backgrounds. Her writing has a warmth and energy that takes all readers completely into her world.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Every now and again, a storyteller comes along who can take us completely into her world and make us wish we never had to leave it. Jennifer Donnelly is such a writer.

When India Selwyn Jones, a young woman from a noble family, graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women in 1900, her professors advise her to set up her practice in London's esteemed Harley Street. Driven and idealistic, India chooses to work in the city's East End instead, serving the desperately poor.

In these grim streets, India meets--and saves the life of--London's most notorious gangster, Sid Malone. A hard, wounded man, Malone is the opposite of India's aristocratic fiancé, Freddie Lytton, a rising star in the House of Commons. Though Malone represents all she despises, India finds herself unwillingly drawn ever closer to him, intrigued by his hidden, mysterious past.

Though they fight hard against their feelings, India and Sid fall in love, and their unpredictable, passionate and bittersweet affair causes destruction they could never have imagined. Sweeping from London to Kenya to the wild, remote coast of California, The Winter Rose is a breathtaking return to the epic historical novel, from a masterful writer with a fresh, richly vivid, and utterly electrifying voice.

About the Author:

Jennifer Donnelly is a children's book writer, tea enthusiast and amateur rosarian. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband. 'The Tea Rose' was her first novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0007221878
• ISBN 13: 9780007221875
• Binding: Paperback