I picked this up when I was just getting over a bout with the flu, and enjoyed this gentle read!Not your typical Mary-Stewart-suspense novel, this book takes the reader through a time shortly after World War 2 has ended. Set in England, Kathy (or Kate), has been called upon by her aging grandmother who is recovering from a stay in the hospital. Kathy's grandmother is moving to Scotland and she needs her to sort through her belongings in the small cottage where Kathy has grown up. Kathy is a wartime widow (her husband had flown bombers for the RAF), who has been living in London for the past several years. She has come to terms with her grief over the loss of her husband, but still has childhood memories that tug at her, and questions that need to be answered.The descriptions of the small village she grew up in, the neighbors (who are vastly interested in anything and everything that happens in their small community!), the gardens, and the furnishings of Rose Cottage itself, makes the reader long to just go and purchase a small cottage in the country and enjoy a quiet life! When she arrives at her childhood home Kathy is surprised to find that the keepsakes her grandmother specifically asked her to set aside for her, have been stolen. Who could have taken them? who knew where the key was hidden that would unlock the secret safe they were hidden in behind the wallpaper? It seems that there are several villagers who are willing to help Kathy speculate on the possibilities...A gentle mystery, I found myself enjoying this book and it was perfect for reading during recuperation from an illness. Kathy's story and that of her mother (and interfering aunt), is a sad one, but one that seemingly does not leave lasting scars. The character of the vicar who is kind to Kathy with his sincerity and genuine helpfulness and who seeks to help Kathy find her true heritage, is contrasted with the self-righteous behavior of her Aunt Betsy. Aunt Betsy takes a drastic and deceptive action that has the opposite effect of what she apparently is trying to do, and her self-serving secrecy will result in sad consequences for the entire family."Rose Cottage" is set during a time when England is not only recovering from war, but examining (and replacing) their societal structures. Social mores are becoming blurred in the aftermath of the war, and, in the light of so much loss and heartache after the war, the class-conscious values of society no longer seem very important. With so many lives tragically affected, it is almost inevitable that the pretensions of class will crumble, and especially so for Kathy in this story.However it is still not too late for Kathy, and I wonder if that is the true message of this quiet novel, that life goes on, and we must make the best of our circumstances and choices. "But that was a long time ago, and I had, perforce, worked out my own philosophy of living. It had to be what you were, not who you were, that mattered. I had taken life as it was dealt me, loved my home, and been happy. Would be happy again. So the person to be sorry for here was Mrs. Winton Smith, a snob who had dropped a social brick, and who, being what she was, would obviously care very much about that..."When I first discovered the story of Kathy's true parentage, I was (I have to admit), a little dismayed. I was hoping for something with more of a 'story' behind it, but perhaps the author shows her wisdom here as she so matter-of-factly shows what real life can sometimes be. Kathy's young, immature mother simply did not foresee the consequences of her summer romance. But as I thought more on this book, I also began to consider, and wonder, what the true message was. Certainly it was no mistake that the author portrayed Aunt Betsy's character as harsh and unforgiving.Maybe then, the true message of this book is that there are real things that matter in life, and that the mistakes we often make in our human-ness and that cloud our lives, don't really have to change the way we act or the way we treat others. Simple acts of kindness will always be welcome, like the quiet words of sympathy that Kathy's neighbors and fellow villagers offer her on her return for the loss of her RAF husband. The friendly milkman, Mr. Blaney, who makes sure that Kathy has what she needs for her stay. Mrs. Pascoe unexpectedly 'dropping in' to help Kathy clean up after the moving van comes. And the steady reassurances of her old school mate, Davey, that quiet her apprehensions... all actions that are a sharp contrast to those of her self-serving Aunt Betsy.And so, for Kathy, she comes to realize in all her searching for the truth, looking through old photo albums, and seeking for answers, that, in spite of the difficulties and heartaches of her past, she still has - and will continue to have - much to be thankful for."I was remembering that slide he had, the kaleidoscope, where you turned a handle and all the bits of coloured glass got shaken up, and then fell into another pattern, a different one each time. Like the war. Shaking all our lives up into a different pattern, so different that we don't quite know what the pattern means."He gave me a quick look I couldn't interpret, then he smiled. "We got shook up, no mistake about that, but I wouldn't worry too much about what the pattern is. Maybe it has changed a bit, but if you think about it, it's the same bits of glass every time.""And that's a comfort?""It's meant to be, but take it or leave it."
Originally published on my blog here in September 2000.In recent years, more or less since she wrote the Merlin Trilogy, Mary Stewart's novels have become more romances and less thrillers. Rose Cottage is the most recent, and bears a distinct resemblance to Thornyhold, from just a few years earlier. Both are about returns to childhood homes, and both are about the protagonist discovering her true self, coming to new understanding about her family, both have an old fashioned atmosphere, and both are set in small English villages.Rose Cottage is set in the late forties, and is the story of Kate Herrick's return to the small house where she grew up, to sort out some items belonging to her grandmother, now living in Scotland, before the cottage is sold. When she arrives, she discovers that some things have gone, that someone has been digging in the garden, and that an elderly neighbour believes she has seen Kate's dead mother.Kate's mother is the important person in the story, for the major part of what Kate does is to find out more about her; after having her daughter by an unknown father, she left the house at the insistence of an unforgiving religious aunt, before being killed in a road accident. That is all Kate really knows about her, and she is driven by a desire to understand her mother and find out the identity of her father.Rose Cottage is a gentle, warm hearted novel; hardly challenging, but just the sort of thing to read when ill.
What do You think about Rose Cottage (1998)?
Rose Cottage is a gentle, cozy mystery, written in Mary Stewart's later years when I suspect she was weary of writing about alpha heroes and heart-stopping dangers. I almost didn't join the Mary Stewart group's buddy read of this book, I was so convinced that I had read this years ago and was bored to tears. But then I started fretting about missing the last official group read and ran down to the library to grab Rose Cottage before someone else got to it. And I'm glad I did. Nothing about this story was familiar to me as I was reading it. Either my memory is getting really bad (entirely possible) or I had this book mixed up in my head with The Stormy Petrel, which I still can't recommend to anyone. But this was an enjoyable "curl up by the fire with something cozy and relaxing" type of book.The book is set in 1947, when Kate Herrick leaves London to visit her ailing grandmother, who sends her to her childhood home, Rose Cottage, to retrieve some family papers and minor heirlooms. Kate never knew who her father was, and when her mother's strict religious aunt, Betsy, who is a real piece of work, moved into their home when Kate was a young child, Aunt Betsy made Kate's mother, Lillias, so unhappy that Lillias left the house and (literally) ran off with the gypsies. Kate never saw her mother again; Lillias died in a bus accident a few years later."When, a little time later, Aunt Betsy was found to be working a text in cross-stitch which said THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, my grandmother, normally the gentlest of women, tore it out of her sister's hands and threw it in the fire. And for once Aunt Betsy never said a word."Thankfully, Aunt Betsy has died by the time the main action in the story take place, but her mean-spirited actions during her lifetime reach across the years to affect her family during this story. Kate and her childhood friend, Davey Pascoe, break open a small hidden safe box in the wall of Rose Cottage to get the family papers and small treasures, only to find that it has been recently emptied by some mysterious person. To add to the mystery, lights have been seen around Rose Cottage in the night, and someone has been digging around the cottage, and putting flowers on the graves of Kate's grandfather and even Aunt Betsy. And a stranger has been asking about Kate's family . . .There is a little suspense in this book, but it's more on the level of don't-forget-to-lock-the-doors-at-night than sleep-with-a-loaded-pistol-under-your-pillow-and-a-Doberman-next-to-your-bed. There's some talk of ghosts and some portentous dreams, but it's pretty mild stuff. As I said, a cozy mystery. There's also a love interest for Kate, but he's definitely the beta hero type--which fits well with the overall tone of this story, actually.Most of the action takes place in northern England and Scotland, so there are quite a few Scots and British terms used in this novel that I was unfamiliar with. I amused myself for the first 50 pages by writing some of them down and looking them up. For example:Clootie dumplings = clootie is a diminutive of the Scots word "cloot" or cloth. The dumpling is made by wrapping the dough in a floured cloth before boiling it. Who knew?Clamjamphrie = commotionFlitting = (Brit.) leaving one's home (often to avoid creditors!)Lonnen = laneHolystone = a soft and brittle sandstone that was used to scrub ships' decks and, apparently, floors and hearths of homes.That's Mary Stewart for you: Always an education in some way. :)In all honesty, this is a 3 1/2 star book. It's nice and pleasant, but not really extraordinary. But I'm rounding up because . . . Mary Stewart. Those who love her books will understand.
—Tadiana ✩ Night Owl☽
Still more Mary Stewart.***We've got a couple of little mysteries going. This is a bit like Thornyhold, written forty years later. Interesting the differences between her writing right after the war, and from a nostalgic distance.***In conclusion,this is also quite a bit like The Shell Seekers. I love seeing the answer to "What was your war like?" for various characters. Stewart addresses the tremendous shift in class boundaries that came with the war, solves a few little mysteries with a fair bit of humor, and resolves it all well.And I realized with this book what made Stewart such a trendsetter: her heroines break the Romance mold by achieving independence and real estate first, and then acquiring a husband and family. These women are seeking Home, not love. Although children aren't a big part of her writing, family is, and much of the heroes' appeal lies in their relations.
—Kaethe
Sweet, gentle village story. A little romance, lots of village color with our heroine revisiting her childhood home and reacquainting with old neighbors and friends and meeting new folk. Story flowed well with just enough almost-gothic element for a mild shiver or two. Post WWII period setting was vivid with rationing still a reality. I did guess one of the main 'mysteries' early on. Loved the line: "It isn't the roots that matter, it's the flower." Mary Stewart, whom I have read since my own adolescence, could always be depended upon for a good story. She still had it- right to the end.
—Phair
