Images of Rose

A subtle and mysterious romance set in nineteenth century England.

Seafaring Captain Adam Westerdale has brought his frail bride to Saxelby Mill to enjoy the lush atmosphere of the English countryside.

But as her health takes a turn for the worse, Captain Westerdale returns to the idyllic spot to bury her years later.

Distraught, Westerdale returns to sea, leaving behind him two young daughters, Lucy and Ellen.

Except for his infrequent visits Lucy and Ellen grow to the brink of womanhood happily without their father's presence.

They live in his absence and in their mother's shadowy memory, dreaming of the day that their girlhood companion, Cousin Rose, would come to them at last.

And that May morning when they spy the beautiful young woman dressed in gray, standing lost and alone at the mill gate, was the day it all began.

Rose has come to touch their lives and nothing will ever be the same again.

Lucy is overjoyed to finally meet Rose, but things are not what they seem and as the atmosphere in the house changes, Ellen begins to seek answers...

Images of Rose is a beautifully written family saga which focuses on female relationships.

Once in a great while, a novel appears of an intensely haunting quality and with a central character of rare complexity, elusory yet enduring. Such a novel was Rebecca and such a figure was the first wife at Manderlay. In this same tradition, Anna Gilbert has written a subtle and mysterious tale and again at its core is a beautiful and enigmatic woman.

Anna Gilbert is the pseudonym under which Marguerite Lazarus (nee Jackson) wrote her romance novels. She was the second child of a schoolmaster and she herself went on to become an English teacher at a grammar school. Other novels by Anna include The Look of Innocence, Remembering Louise, The Wedding Guest, The Long Shadow, and many more.


Genre: Historical