The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
THE WILD ROSE by Jennifer Donnelly
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: August 2, 2011
SUMMARY: The vast multi-generational epic that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose now reaches its dramatic conclusion in The Wild Rose.
London, 1914. World War I is looming on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and global explorers are pushing the limits of endurance at the Poles and in the deserts. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters:
– Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while climbing Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life.
– Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England.
– Max von Brandt, a handsome sophisticate who courts high society women, but who has a secret agenda as a German spy;
– and many others.
Review: Fans of Jennifer Donnelly’s previous works, The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, are in for a treat with the latest book in this historical saga. THE WILD ROSE is a beautifully researched historical tale combined with an intense plot, well-developed characters and gorgeous prose. Because there are so many recurring characters from the first two books in the ROSE trilogy, I would recommend beginning with the The Tea Rose and continuing from there. However, THE WILD ROSE has enough excitement, suspense, love and tension to stand completely and successfully on its own. Donnelly also provides quite a bit of backstory within the first 50 pages of THE WILD ROSE to catch the readers up on the action. The Washington Post calls Donnelly “a master of pacing and plot” and I couldn’t agree more. What I love most is the way Donnelly provides the readers with so much detail into the time period that you can truly see the stories playing out right before your eyes.
