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The Tea Rose: A Novel (The Tea Rose Series, 1) Paperback – December 10, 2007
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The Tea Rose is a towering old-fashioned story, imbued with a modern sensibility, of a family's destruction, of murder and revenge, of love lost and won again, and of one determined woman's quest to survive and triumph.
East London, 1888-a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths.
Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, a bright and defiant young woman dares to dream of a life beyond tumbledown wharves, gaslit alleys, and the grim and crumbling dwellings of the poor.
Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.
But Fiona's dreams are shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take from her nearly everything-and everyone-she holds dear. Fearing her own death at the dark man's hands, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit-and the ghosts of her past-propel her rise from a modest west side shopfront to the top of Manhattan's tea trade.
Authentic and moving, Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose is an unforgettable novel.
- Print length592 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 10, 2007
- Dimensions6.15 x 1.55 x 9.2 inches
- ISBN-100312378025
- ISBN-13978-0312378028
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“It's so much fun ...this is London in the 1880s, the London of Charles Dickens and Edward Rutherfurd, a teeming, messy place full of business, dirt and poverty. Once in New York, we trip from the tenements of the Lower East Side to elegant dining at Delmonico's, with hardly a paragraph to catch our breath...the atmosphere of both starring cities is created in satisfying detail. One can walk the streets and listen to the people chat in the company of Jennifer Donnelly, who has done her historical homework...she delivers.” ―Washington Post
“Time seems to stand still when The Tea Rose comes to life.” ―The Anniston Star
“When you start reading Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose give yourself plenty of time because this is a most seductive novel. You will travel from the rough, often savage, back streets of London to the glossy sophistication of New York's Fifth Avenue. You'll be charmed by the novel's heroine, Fiona Finnegan-her intelligence, her courage, her great heart. Despite her suffering-a lost love, a tragic family-there are moments you will want to cheer. It's the kind of novel where the writing is so fluid you feel the author simply loves telling her story. This is a splendid heartwarming novel of pain, struggle, decency, triumph-and just what we need in these times.” ―Frank McCourt
“I loved this vividly atmospheric and wonderfully rambunctious yarn-brilliantly told, great fun to read.” ―Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman
“Bold, brisk, and beguiling. The Tea Rose is splendid brew of a book.” ―Samuel H. G. Twining, LVO, OBE, director of Twinings Tea
“The Tea Rose is the kind of book that calls for a rainy day, a cozy chair, and a good, steaming cup of tea. It's strong and satisfying, with a taste that lingers in the memory.” ―Paula Cohen, author of Gramercy Park
“In the tradition of Barbara Taylor Bradford...steeped in romance and authentic period detail, this exquisite melodrama will appeal to fans of epic historical fiction.” ―Booklist
“The novel's lively plotting, big cast of warmly drawn characters and long-deferred romantic denouement make this a ripping yarn.” ―Publishers Weekly
“Readers will relish this rags-to-riches romance.” ―Library Journal
“A hard book to put down until the final page.” ―Chattanooga Free Press
“Donnelly's tale pulls the reader into its emotional depths and refuses to let go. Fiona Finnegan is a remarkable heroine.” ―Romantic Times Book Club, Top Pick
From the Back Cover
The Tea Rose
East London, 1888-a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.
But Fiona's life is shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take from her nearly everything-and everyone-she holds dear. Fearing her own death, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit propels her rise from a modest West Side shop-front to the top of Manhattan's tea trade. But Fiona's old ghosts do not rest quietly, and to silence them, she must venture back to the London of her childhood, where a deadly confrontation with her past becomes the key to her future.
.
"Full of warmth and rich period detail, "The Tea Rose" begs for a comfy, overstuffed chair and plenty of time to keep turning those pages." "-Dallas Morning News"
"Steeped in melodrama, revenge, and a maddeningly star-crossed romance...a fine yarn." -"People"
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Tea Rose
A NovelBy Donnelly, JenniferSt. Martin's Griffin
Copyright ©2007 Donnelly, JenniferAll right reserved.
ISBN: 9780312378028
Prologue
Polly Nichols, a Whitechapel whore, was profoundly grateful to gin.
Gin helped her. It cured her. It took away her hunger and chased the chill from her joints. It stilled the aching in her rotten teeth and numbed the slicing pains she got every time she took a piss. It made her feel better than any man ever had. It calmed her. It soothed her.
Swaying drunkenly in the darkness of an alley, she raised a bottle to her lips and drained it. The alcohol burned like fire. She coughed, lost her grip on the bottle, and swore as it smashed.
In the distance, the clock at Christ Church struck two, its resonant chime muffled in the thickening fog. Polly dipped her hand into her coat pocket and felt for the coins there. Two hours ago, she’d been sitting in the kitchen of a doss-house on Thrawl Street, penniless. The landlord’s man had spotted her there, asked for his fourpence, and turned her out when she couldn’t supply it. She’d cursed and screamed at him, telling him to save her bed, he’d get his doss money, telling him she’d earned it and drunk it three times over that day.
“And I got it, too, you bastard,” she muttered. “Didn’t I say I would? Got yer poxy fourpence and a skinful to boot.”
She’d found her money and her gin in the trousers of a lone drunk wending his way down the Whitechapel Road. He’d needed a bit of coaxing. At forty-two, her face was no longer her fortune. She was missing two front teeth and her pug nose was thick and flattened across the bridge like a fighter’s, but her large bosom was still firm and a glimpse of it had decided him. She’d insisted on a swig of his gin first, knowing a mouthful would numb her throat, get up her nose, and block the beer and onions stink of him. As she drank, she’d unbuttoned her camisole, and while he was busy groping her, she’d slipped the bottle into her own pocket. He was clumsy and slow and she was glad when he finally pulled away and staggered off.
Christ, but there’s nothing like gin, she thought now, smiling at the memory of her good fortune. To feel the weight of a bottle in your hands, press your lips against the glass, and feel the blue ruin flowing down your throat, hot and harsh. Nothing like it at all. And close to full that bottle had been. No mean thru’penny swig. Her smile faded as she found herself craving more. She’d been drinking all day and knew the misery that awaited her when the booze wore off. The retching, the shaking, and, worst of all, the things she saw—black, scuttling things that gibbered and leered from the cracks in the walls of the doss-house.
Polly licked her right palm and smoothed her hair. Her hands went to her camisole; her fingers fumbled a knot into the dirty strings threaded through the top of it. She tugged her blouse together and buttoned it, then lurched out of the alley and down Bucks Row, singing to herself in a gravelly, gin-cracked voice:
“Oh, bad luck can’t be prevented,
Fortune, she smiles or she frowns,
’E’s best off that’s contented,
To mix, sir, the ups and the downs . . .”
At the corner of Bucks Row and Brady Street, she suddenly stopped. Her vision blurred. A buzzing noise, low and close like the wings of an insect, began in her head.
“I’ve the ’orrors of drink upon me,” she moaned. She held her hands up. They were trembling. She buttoned her coat up around her neck and began to walk faster, desperate for more gin. Her head lowered, she did not see the man standing a few feet ahead of her until she was nearly upon him. “Blimey!” she cried. “Where the ’ell did you come from?”
The man looked at her. “Will you?” he asked.
“No, guv’nor, I will not. I’m poorly just now. Good night.”
She started to move off, but he grabbed her arm. She turned on him, her free arm raised to strike him, when her eyes fell upon the shilling pinched between his thumb and forefinger.
“Well, that changes things, don’t it?” she said. His shilling plus the fourpence she already had would buy booze and a bed tonight, tomorrow, and the day after, too. As sick as she felt, she couldn’t turn it down.
Polly and her client walked back the way she’d come in silence, past tumble-down dwellings and tall brick warehouses. The man had a powerful stride and she found herself trotting to keep pace. Glancing at him, she saw he was expensively dressed. Probably had a nice watch on him. She’d certainly have a go at his pockets when the time was right. He stopped abruptly at the end of Bucks Row, by the entrance to a stable yard.
“Not ’ere,” she protested, wrinkling her nose. “By the metal works . . . a little ways down . . .”
“This’ll do,” he said, pushing her against two sheets of corrugated metal, secured by a chain and padlock, that served as the stable’s gate.
His face shone weirdly bright in the thickening darkness, its pallor broken by eyes that were cold and black. A wave of nausea gripped her as she looked into them. Oh, Jesus, she pleaded silently, don’t let me be sick. Not here. Not now. Not this close to a whole shilling. She forced herself to breathe deeply, willing the nausea to subside. As she did, she inhaled his scent—Macassar oil, sweat, and something else . . . what was it? Tea. Bloody tea, of all things.
“Let’s get on with it then,” she said. She lifted her skirts, fixing him with a look of weary expectation.
The man’s eyes were glittering darkly now, like shiny pools of black oil. “You filthy bitch,” he said.
“No dirty talk tonight, pet. I’m in a bit of an ’urry. Need some ’elp, do you?” She reached for him. He slapped her hand away.
“Did you really think you could hide from me?”
“Look ’ere, are you going to—” Polly began. She never finished. Without warning, the man grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the gate.
“Leave off!” she cried, flailing at him. “Let me go!”
He tightened his grip. “You left us,” he said, his eyes bright with hatred. “Left us for the rats.”
“Please!” she rasped. “Please don’t ’urt me. I don’t know about any rats, I swear it . . . I . . .”
“Liar.”
Polly never saw the knife coming. She had no time to scream as it plunged into her belly, biting and twisting. A soft gasp escaped her as he pulled it out. She stared at the blade, uncomprehending, her eyes wide, her mouth a great, round O. Slowly, delicately, she touched her fingers to the wound. They came away crimson.
She lifted her eyes to his, her voice rising in a wild, terrified keen, and looked into the face of madness. He raised his knife; it bit into her throat. Her knees buckled and all around her darkness descended, enveloping her, dragging her into a thick and strangling fog, a fog deeper than the river Thames and blacker than the London night that swirled down on her soul. Copyright © 2002 by Jennifer Donnelly. All rights reserved.
Continues...
Excerpted from The Tea Rose by Donnelly, Jennifer Copyright ©2007 by Donnelly, Jennifer. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition (December 10, 2007)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 592 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0312378025
- ISBN-13 : 978-0312378028
- Item Weight : 0.048 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.15 x 1.55 x 9.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #187,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #892 in American Historical Romance (Books)
- #1,573 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #1,718 in Historical Thrillers (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Jennifer Donnelly is the author of thirteen novels - Poisoned, Stepsister, Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, These Shallow Graves, Sea Spell, Dark Tide, Rogue Wave, Deep Blue, Revolution, A Northern Light, The Tea Rose, The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose - and Humble Pie, a picture book for children. She is a co-author of Fatal Throne, which explores the lives of King Henry VIII's six wives, for which she wrote the part of Anna of Cleves, Henry's fourth wife.
Jennifer grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she majored in English Literature and European History.
Jennifer’s first novel, The Tea Rose, an epic historical novel set in London and New York in the late 19th century, was called “exquisite” by Booklist, “so much fun” by the Washington Post, a “guilty pleasure” by People and was named a Top Pick by the Romantic Times. The Rose trilogy continued with The Winter Rose and The Wild Rose.
Her second novel, A Northern Light, set in the Adirondacks of 1906, against the backdrop of an infamous murder, won the Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Borders Original Voices Award, and was named a Printz Honor book. Described as “rich and true” by The New York Times, the book was named to the Best Book lists of The Times (London), The Irish Times, The Financial Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and the School Library Journal. In 2015, TIME Magazine named it one of the 100 best young adult books of all time.
Revolution was named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library, and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal. The audio edition was awarded an Odyssey Honor for Excellence.
In 2014, Jennifer teamed up with Disney to launch the bestselling Waterfire Saga, an epic series about six mermaids on a quest to rid the world of an ancient evil. The first book in the series, Deep Blue, was released in May, 2014; the second, Rogue Wave, launched in January 2015; the third, Dark Tide, came out in October 2015; and the fourth, Sea Spell, was released in June 2016.
In November 2015, Jennifer released the historical novel These Shallow Graves, which received starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly and Shelf Awareness, and was named a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Jennifer worked with Disney again in 2017, when she released the NY Times bestselling "Lost in a Book," an original novel set in the world of the blockbuster film, "Beauty and the Beast."
Jennifer's 12th novel, 2019's Stepsister, begins where the classic tale of Cinderella leaves off. It follows Cinderella's wicked stepsister Isabelle as personifications of fate and chance battle for control of her life, hinting that there may be hope after all for a girl labeled "ugly" since her first appearances in literature. Jennifer followed this up in 2020 with Poisoned, which looks at the Snow White fairy tale a whole new way -- proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl ... and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.
Jennifer is busy at work with the third novel in this series of retold fairy tales -- stay tuned for more information.
Jennifer lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.
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Donnelly is an author that I've never read before, but she will easily become a new favorite of mine. This book was beautifully done. I loved how the author stuck to the accents each character had, adjusting her writing to illustrate those. This is an author who writes delicious sentences and descriptions, and this book is one I enjoyed falling into.
I also loved the story, although it was often so heartbreaking that I couldn't help but feel sorry for Fiona. She lived a tough life. Growing up poor and eventually left to her own devices because of tragedy after tragedy, Fiona still manages to make something of herself and to reach her dreams. The author used Jack the Ripper as a way to move the plot forward and took creative liberties to tie him into her story. I loved this part of the book. Jack intrigues me, and as a villain he is most definitely a scary one. While the story was high on drama, I never felt like any of it was too wildly unbelievable. Each tragedy and success that Fiona experienced seemed plausible, although I often wished for a little more happiness for her. In the end, the story does work out, although there are many hardships on the way.
The characters in this novel were all well done. My favorite was probably Nick, a man Fiona encounters on her way to New York who becomes a rock for her throughout the beginning of her new life there. Nick is often funny and cares about Fiona to a degree that almost no one else in the book does. He supports her in all endeavors that she undertakes, and who doesn't want a best friend like that? Michael, Fiona's uncle, was an interesting character, often funny because of his developing paternal feelings toward Fiona. Although many of Fiona's family is lost early in the book, those characters are also given a certain livelihood that sets them apart, a testament to the skills of development on Donnelly's part.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It's sizable but quite worth it. There's enough story to keep the reader interested, and it's so beautifully done that it's a world readers won't want to leave.
Don't take this the wrong way, but the books in the Rose Trilogy reminded me of the Danielle Steel books I used to devour when I was 14-years old ... and I mean that in the very best way!!
I used to love Danielle Steel's books (though I've "outgrown" them after being exposed to a "better" class of books) because they featured heroines who experienced all these ups and downs but who eventually triumphed over difficulties to have amazing lives. Plus they also had complicated and often tragic love lives. The Rose Trilogy has all these same elements ... except with better writing and historical detail!!
The Rose Trilogy focuses on the Finnegan family--a close-knit family from the hardscrabble section of London known as Whitechapel. Family members include: family patriarch Paddy, whose leadership in the nascent union movement leads to tragedy; his wife Kate, who struggles to keep the family together despite multiple difficulties; Fiona, the oldest daughter, who is in love with the boy down the street; Charlie, the oldest son, who contributes what he can to family finances, even when that means walking on the edge of what is legal; and Seamus, the youngest son, who is just 5 years old in the first book but is featured front and center in the final book of the series.
We first meet the Finnegans in The Tea Rose. It is the 1880s in East London, and a murderer named Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the area. (Donnelly even goes so far as to unmask Jack's "true" identity in the book.) The Tea Rose of the title refers to Fiona Finnegan, the feisty daughter who is in love with a coster (veggie salesman) named Joe Bristow. They are saving every bit of their meager wages to open up a shop of their own. However, tragedy hits the family and Joe betrays Fiona in the worst way possible--leaving Fiona and Seamus in desperate straits. Fleeing to America, Fiona struggles to survive in New York City, where she vows revenge on the man who ruined her family.
The opening book sets the tone for the entire trilogy: star-crossed lovers; continual setbacks and obstacles; rich historical detail (Donnelly isn't afraid to incorporate real-life historical figures such as George Mallory, Jack the Ripper and Lawrence of Arabia into her books), and a plot that keeps you wondering what will befall her beleaguered characters next. (Some pretty hot and heavy sex scenes are sprinkled throughout too!) Although there is a fair amount of coincidence that strains the limits of believability, just forget all that and enjoy the ride.
The second book, The Winter Rose, has a new "rose" as its center--Dr. India Selwyn-Jones, an idealistic young doctor who dreams of opening a clinic for women and children in poverty-stricken Whitechapel. Just like Fiona in the first book, India must deal with an evil man set on ruining her life while struggling with her attraction to a criminal named Sid Malone. The book moves from London to Africa and also introduces readers to Seamus as a young man. Fiona makes periodic appearances but isn't the primary focus of the book. Although it sounds like the book doesn't focus as much on the Finnegan family, I'll leave you to discover why that isn't true!
The third and final book, The Wild Rose, features Willa Alden, the great love of Seamus Finnegan's life, as its rose. "Wild" is the right word to describe Willa, who readers first meet in The Winter Rose. She is a fearless mountaineer who defies expectations of what women can and should do, despite a significant handicap after an accident on Mt. Kilimanjaro (which takes place in the second book). Like the other two books, this book starts in London before moving the action to Arabia during World War I.
Each book is a chunkster (all of them are 500+ pages) and requires a fairly decent time commitment, but they are the type of chunksters that move along at a steady clip. My biggest criticism is the amount of coincidence that propels the plots, but don't let that stop you from reading the books. This was historical fiction at its best: fast-paced, far-ranging and drama-filled. I enjoyed the series immensely, and thank Jill at Rhapsody in Books for turning me on to this series. I would have never picked these books up on my own as historical fiction isn't my preferred genre and the staid covers don't give you a full sense of all the action, drama and romance that pack the pages inside. Highly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries
I am a bit surprised that the triology of the Tea Rose isn't so popular (at least not here in Germany) because this book is for me a masterpiece. Really!! During the week while I was reading the story, I always had to think about the characters and the plot.
Even when I was at a party I had to tell everyone about The Tea Rose (didn't care if they didn't want to hear it :D)
I am a person who doesn't like every book and read a book till the end although it is very bad and boring and I have looked for a book just like this one - and found it, luckly :)
Mrs. Donnelly knows exactly how to keep the readers attention. It is also so emotional at some points, that I had to cry with the character or laugh.
For me, the best book I've ever read!