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The Winter Rose | 
 enlarge | Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Publisher: Hyperion
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 61346
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 720
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.7 x 2.3
ISBN: 1401301037
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781401301033
ASIN: 1401301037
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
It has been twelve years since a dark, murderous figure stalked the alleys and courts of Whitechapel. And yet, in the summer of 1900, East London is still poor, still brutal, still a shadow city to its western twin. Among the reformers is an idealistic young woman named India Selwyn-Jones, recently graduated from medical school. With the help of her influential fiance--Freddie Lytton, an up-and-coming Liberal MP--she works to shut down the area's opium dens that destroy both body and soul. Her selfless activities better her patients' lives and bring her immense gratification, but unfortunately, they also bring her into direct conflict with East London's ruling crime lord--Sid Malone. India is not good for business and at first, Malone wants her out. But against all odds, India and Sid fall in love. Different in nearly every way, they share one thing in common--they're both wounded souls. Their love is impossible and they know it, yet they cling to it desperately. Lytton, India's fiance, will stop at nothing to marry India and gain her family's fortune. Fractious criminal underlings and rivals conspire against Sid. When Sid is finally betrayed by one of his own, he must flee London to save his life. Mistakenly thinking him dead, India, pregnant and desperate, marries Freddie to provide a father for hers and Sid's child. India and Sid must each make a terrible sacrifice--a sacrifice that will change them both forever. One that will lead them to other lives, and other places...and perhaps--one distant, bittersweet day--back to each other.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 A sequel that lives up in every way to its predecessor January 8, 2008
Lilly Flora (Portland, OR)
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
I loved the first novel in this series so much that when I heard the second book had been published in England years ahead of when it was coming out here I ordered it from the U.K. and waited eagerly for it to arrive in the mail. When it finally came I was so happy I did a little dance.
I admit to having very high expectations of this novel, but they were met in spades. "The Winter Rose" did not disappoint. Just like its predecessor, "The Winter Rose" is exciting, romantic, atmospheric and packed full of little historical details that make the words spring to life off the page.
You may not want to read past this point if you haven't read "The Tea Rose."
In "The Winter Rose" we meet up again with Charlie Finnegan, who at the end of "The Tea Rose" was discovered not to be dead, but living under the name of Sid Malone as a crime boss in London. Though his sister Fiona tries to get Charlie to come back to his family, he has lived too long as Sid to feel he can rejoin society.
Enter India Jones a recent graduate of medical school. Though she is from a highly privileged family, India wants to practice medicine in one of London's worst neighborhoods-White Chapel. Here she meets Sid and saves his life. Though she's disgusted by his life of crime, India soon finds herself going to Sid to procure birth control for her poorest patients-something that "modern" doctors will not prescribe or allow patients to have. A bond soon forms between the two that evolves into something more than friendship-despite India's privileged, long time fiance.
And as is a must in any great sequel, the characters we came to know and love in "The Tea Rose" have returned, and though they are not the center focus, we get to see what their lives have become since we left them.
Like "The Tea Rose", "The Winter Rose" takes place in two parts, years apart from one another. It takes us from the poorest sections of London to the high reaches of Kilimanjaro, from Coffee plantations to California hillsides. We met murderous men, compassionate women and scheming politicians. "The Winter Rose" is an epic love story, an adventure and a feast for any reader. It is a book to savor, to read slowly and take in all the details, though you may need to speed through it to find out what happens! I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Five stars. I eagerly await the third novel in this series. This author does write slowly, but the finished product is more than worth the wait
Stunning Saga February 18, 2008
Tamela Mccann (Nashville, TN USA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
The Winter Rose, a sequel to The Tea Rose, is a simply stunning tale of family drama, politics, and medicine at the turn of the last century. Ms. Donnelly brings back familiar characters such as Fiona and Joe, and adds newer ones that equally enthrall. Long and densely written, this is a book you will not want to put down and one that will stay with you for a very long time.
The scene opens on India Selwyn Jones's graduation from medical school in 1900. Full of idealistic notions, India chooses to forestall marriage to Freddie Lytton while she pursues clinical help in the lower classes of Whitechapel. India isn't marrying Freddie for love, though she is fond of him, but his reasons are much more nefarious. Naive and determined, India is shocked when she has to treat the notorious gangster Sid Malone. As Sid's life hangs in the balance, the two share their stories and eventually become lovers. At the same time as their story is unfolding, Joe Bristow decides it is time for him to go into politics, and his life takes a nasty turn at the hands of Sid. Or was it Sid? The story moves at a fast clip and keeps the characters entangled with lots of coincidences and near-misses. How the path to happiness develops for India, Joe, Fiona, and Sid will keep you turning the pages. The introduction of Seamie, Fiona's younger brother, and his adventurous spirit, help set the stage for a third entry in the series sometime in the future.
This is a fabulous book with larger than life characters. It is satisfying in its ability to bring the reader into the story and it will make you care deeply for every person and situation. It is indeed a tour de force, and one I can wholeheartedly recommend to those who love family sagas, historical fiction, and plain good storytelling. Highly, highly recommended.
Sweeping Epic Entertains Completely February 2, 2008
Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA)
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
Fans of Jennifer Donnelly's THE TEA ROSE will be as completely mesmerized by this sequel as they were by the initial offering. Fiona Finnegan and Joe Bristow, the star-crossed lovers of the first novel, return; but it is Fiona's brother Charlie and the indomitable Dr. India Selwyn Jones who are the focus of this story.
Readers learned at the end of THE TEA ROSE that Charlie was not dead but had evolved into the notorious Sid Malone. Now a violent criminal, Sid's path crosses with that of the dedicated India. Her brilliant medical mind and caring spirit are focused on saving the poor women and children of London's impoverished Whitechapel area. Inexplicably, she finds herself saving the life of Sid Malone and a life-long bond is formed between this unlikely twosome.
Donnelly has studiously researched the times and the area to give the reader an achingly accurate portrait of the seamy streets and the women and children who are dying from hunger and poor health practices. India's vision of providing a free clinic for these indigent people is about to become a reality when fate intervenes.
From London to the undeveloped territory of British East Africa and the exquisite Pacific coast of California, the reader is led on a memorable journey of the heart and spirit as lives are put in jeopardy, bonds are formed, and hearts are broken. A multi-layered story of searing romance and unforgettable adventure unfolds with all the tragedy and triumph a reader can hope for.
The secondary characters are equally well-defined and add depth to the intertwining plots. From Charlie's brother Seamie and his beloved Willa to young Charlotte and the diabolical Freddie Lytton, the reader will be totally captivated by the unexpected paths that the characters follow and the high tension which will keep readers turning the pages and refusing to turn away from this riveting tale.
 Historical soap opera January 13, 2008
Nicole (Chicago)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
"Epic" is definitely the word to describe this novel--it would have been satisfying at half the length. By the end I felt it was somewhat poorly plotted--plodding here, exciting there, rushed somewhere else. The last 200 or so pages were full of tense moments and cliffhangers, which was very out of character for the rest of the book.
Also, I had a hard time understanding the protagonist. India Selwyn Jones wanted so badly to be a doctor that she was cut off from her wealthy family and accepted a financially precarious existence outside her former social circle. You would expect her to be a strong female lead, but instead she was constantly buffeted by each and every male character, from her boss to her fiance to her lover. She risked her job to distribute contraceptives to desperate women, but when a seriously telegraphed pregnancy finally hit her she literally destroyed her entire life for the benefit of her child. Incomprehensible! I also found the sex scenes too explicit and out of place, though they were relatively few and far between.
On the other hand, the large cast of secondary characters was well drawn and very likable. They are what kept me turning 700+ pages. The sequel to The Tea Rose, this makes a fine standalone novel as well, though you may want to read more about Fiona when you're through--she seems much more interesting than India. Recommended if you're looking to be absorbed in a far-ranging story for the length of a hefty book.
Not since Gone With The Wind... February 2, 2008
Sherri Caldwell (Atlanta, GA, USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I loved this book! It's not very often you come across an epic-length novel (707 pages!) that completely transports you to another time and place, where the characters live and breathe, history comes alive, and you are so engaged in the story the pages fly by -- the end comes too quickly.
Many of my Southern literary friends might gasp at this, but not since Gone with the Wind have I enjoyed such an epic historic romance. Admittedly, it's a bit of a bodice-ripper, and, yes, the central romance, between an aristocratic female doctor, working among London's impoverished in 1900, and a notorious underworld criminal is highly improbable...but come on, people, this is escapist fiction, with a fascinating side of history and politics, circa 1900 East London and then on to Africa and San Francisco.
Jennifer Donnelly does an excellent job interweaving history and fiction, with glimpses of Jack the Ripper; Winston Churchill; class society and division in London in the 1900s; poverty and politics; the emergence of Women's Rights; British colonial expansion and policy in Ireland and Africa.
The Winter Rose is many stories intertwined. I loved most the broad spectrum and flow of characters and setting, the historic detail. All the pieces fit together. At its best, literature takes us out of our normal everyday experience and carries us away completely. It can make for a hard landing at the end, when the book is over and the connection to characters is abruptly broken, but a great story stays with you, as will The Winter Rose.
Sherri Caldwell, co-author: "The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!"
(Conari Press, 2004)
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