Lady Rose's Daughter: A Novel

Original light blue cloth boards with black decorative borders and black Gothic-style lettering on front cover and spine. Moderate surface soiling, fading and scattered stains to both boards. Corners and spine extremities show considerable rubbing, with some cloth fraying and exposed underlying material. Spine lettering is legible but faded. Page edges are age-toned. Interior illustrated frontispiece and title page are present, and sampled text pages appear intact and readable. No dust jacket. Front free endpaper contains an early handwritten gift inscription. Christmas 1909 gift inscription from Ellen J. Peterson to Gertrude Knapp Box 51 Lady Rose's Daughter tells the story of Julie Le Breton, an intelligent and independent young woman whose birth outside marriage creates difficulties within the rigid aristocratic society of early twentieth-century England. Julie is the daughter of Lady Rose, a noblewoman whose forbidden relationship resulted in estrangement from her family. After her mother's death, Julie enters London society as the companion to the influential Lady Henry. Her intelligence, charm and determination attract admiration, rivalry and romantic interest. As Julie navigates questions of class, legitimacy, wealth and personal independence, she struggles to reconcile her emotional desires with the expectations of society. The novel explores the restrictions imposed upon women and the tensions between love, duty and social standing.…