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The Rose of Sebastopol: A Novel
The Rose of Sebastopol: A Novel
The Rose of Sebastopol: A Novel
Audiobook12 hours

The Rose of Sebastopol: A Novel

Written by Katharine McMahon

Narrated by Josephine Bailey

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

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About this audiobook

In 1854, beautiful, adventurous Rosa Barr travels to the Crimean battlefield with Florence Nightingale's nursing corps. A headstrong idealist, longing to break out of the rigid confines of life as a young lady, Rosa is determined to make a difference in the world.

For Mariella Lingwood, Rosa's cousin, the war is contained within the pages of her scrapbook, in her London sewing circle, and in the letters she receives from her fiance, Henry-a celebrated surgeon who has also volunteered to work within the shadow of the guns. When Henry falls ill and is sent to recuperate in Italy, Mariella impulsively decides she must go to him. But upon her arrival at his lodgings, she makes a heartbreaking discovery: Rosa has disappeared without a trace. Following the trail of her elusive cousin, Mariella's epic journey takes her from the domestic restraint of Victorian London to the ravaged landscape of the Crimea and the tragic city of Sebastopol, where she encounters Rosa's dashing stepbrother, a reckless cavalry officer whose complex past-and future-is inextricably bound up with her own. As Mariella's quest leads her deeper into the dark heart of the conflict, her ordered world begins to crumble, and she finds she has much to learn about secrecy, faithfulness, and love.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 19, 2009
ISBN9781400181421
The Rose of Sebastopol: A Novel

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Rating: 3.227272727272727 out of 5 stars
3/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Rose of Sebastopol is a novel set against the backdrop of the Crimean War. The three main characters are Mariella, our over-sheltered narrator; Henry, her fiancé, who goes off to the Crimean War as a doctor; and Rosa, Mariella’s idealistic cousin and best friend, whose progressive ideas lead her to become a nurse in the Crimea with Florence Nightingale. When Rosa goes missing, Mariella goes off in search of her cousin, encountering a very sick Henry along the way.The historical detail is top-notch, but I had a slight problem with the characters: Rosa is a little too modern, and Mariella is a little boring, though I realize that McMahon may have made her so on purpose for historical accuracy. The constant references to skirts, petticoats, and corsets were a little too intrusive, and I believe that if a real 19th century woman had been narrating, she wouldn’t have even mentioned her clothes, much less her underclothes. It’s almost as though McMahon wanted to say, “look, look, I did my research!”In addition, the non-linear narrative is jumpy, and the novel doesn’t truly get interesting until Mariella goes to the Crimea. But even then, I thought the entire journey in the first place was a little out of character for Mariella, who seems to be the kind of person who would normally put a lot of thought into something before doing it. Also, the ending is a little rushed and inconclusive, and the book could have used a better editor (for some reason the author, or her proofreader, is afraid of commas). But other than that, I enjoyed the story and the historical details.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    What an embarrassing read for the most part. How any of the characters could be in love with each other is a mystery, and spending so much time with Mariella, the narrator, is hard-going, she's such a sop, until the Irish nurse Nora giver her the verbal 'fecking' slap she needed and she bucks up. I picked it up because of the embroidery element, but this was no fabulous Penelope or Arachne story which I was hoping for, and the speed at which Mariella sews and embroiders is frustratingly not remotely credible. Still, once she's had her 'fecking' slap,the narrative improves and it's a fair old romp to the end - albeit a soppy one. Crimea wasn't badly depicted throughout, both at the scene and at home through the Times, which was a relief! But all in all, time spent with some hopefully forgettable characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    We enjoyed the middle of this book the most! (We had problems with the beginning - Mariella not likeable, beginning rather strung out) and the end (loose ends not tied up) but despite this, our overall impression was that we enjoyed it. The nursing/medical information was interesting, the nature of women's lives in the 19th cent... Two of us would recommend this book, two of us wouldn't!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is one of those books that makes you want to slap a character for being an idiot. Unfortunately, it's not just one character here, it's every last one of them. I want to slap narrator Mariella in hope that she might grow a rudimentary spine and take a look at reality. I want to slap Rosa for being fixated on her ideal so intently that very nearly every last thing she does is thoughtless, dangerous and frankly stupid. Henry is smug and self-satisfied, except when he's being pathetic and self-pitying. The itch to administer therapeutic slappings persists throughout, right up until a mere handful of pages short of the rather 'yes, and then what?' finish. You'd rather have expected Mariella's wake-up call to have been a bit sooner than that, given the circumstances.It's not badly written. It's just the blasted characters; I would not have been sorry to see the lot of them wiped out wholesale. On the whole, then, not a win.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed the story that is woven through The Rose of Sebastopol. We get a sense of what people at home heard and thought of the war, but also what it was like living and working in the war zone. It is told in dual narrative, with the primary narrative told during the Crimean War, and the secondary narrative consists of Mariella's memories of past events. If you have trouble following multiple timelines, this book may give you difficulty. Part of Mariella's tale of past events can be of her life just before she heads to Italy, from when she meets Henry, and later when she meets Rosa. Eventually the "present" timeline, and the rememberances of life just before she leaves for Italy catch up together, so there is one less time frame to keep track of. Since I had an audiobook, I missed having a printed copy that I could flip back and check at times.One biggest problem with this audiobook how the chapters end. I would be sitting, listening happily along, and expect the chapter to continue, except it goes launching into a new one. I am not sure if the author wrote it that way, or if the narrator read it in a way where the phrasing sounded like the chapter should continue instead of stopping. This might not have bothered me much, except that I would say at least half of the chapters in the novel ended that way. The other major problem I had with the book is Mariella's voice. When she would get to thinking about how Henry is, or where Rosa was or some decision she has to make, she starts to sound whiny, weak and spoiled. I simply can't stand whiny, weak female lead characters, and this began to get to me. It may have been exaggerated, since I was listening to the book, but not seeing it in print, its hard to say how much. It may also be done to exaggerate the difference between Rosa and Mariella, since Rosa is decisive and fearless, but if this is the case, it could have been done so Mariella didn't sound so weak.Some of the events covered in the last disk or two seemed hurried, and thrown in almost like an afterthought when compared to the long period in getting to the Crimea and looking for Rosa there. Some of these events would have made the story more interesting, in terms of the characters and their relationships with each other, but being hurried in near the end, they felt more contrived.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've had to back-burner this book so many times that I'm not sure I can see it clearly anymore. At least I'm left feeling confused, because a lot of what I liked is also what I found problematic.The first half of the book reads relatively slowly. Mariella is a pampered, sheltered girl who is a perfectly proper example of a lady in her time. She's a bit naive, she lacks a sense of adventure, and she's consumed with maintaining propriety. Although she's not a girl I'd like to hang with, she fits in her world and is sharply contrasted with her cousin, Rosa, who is strong-willed and impetuous and strains at the bonds of a proper life. The first half of the book, Mariella fits and it's Rosa who's jarring. Despite my belief, as a modern woman, that her impulses to career and education and travel were her absolute right, and despite the fact that I know that I would appreciate Rosa much more were we actually to meet, she comes across as grating and heedless. She doesn't fit this London life, while Mariella does.Then the second half begins, and the tables are sharply turned. Rosa, who has gone to the Crimea as a nurse, disappears and Mariella goes to find her while also visiting her wounded fiancé. All of the sudden we are on the front in the Crimean War, where Rosa's independence and spirit are not only valuable, but downright necessary. And it's Mariella's focus on propriety and social position, her weakness in every respect, that's jarring. The second half of the book is not only much faster-paced, but is also the point where we get some serious character development from everyone concerned. It's sometimes uncomfortable and can be embarrassing or frustrating to read, but I also found it really satisfying.This book, even though it exclusively follows Mariella's thoughts and movements, is about Rosa. Rosa is the lens through which we understand everything. Her family, the role of women, the horror of war. And so when she re-enters the story after her disappearance, the story ends. This is kind of a quest novel, and once we learn where Rosa went, the quest is finished. It feels abrupt, and I know a lot of people here didn't like it, but I found it strangely appropriate, and even satisfying. It fulfilled, for me, the Rosa of the first half, who always drew the attention of everyone around her, whether for good or bad. It also fulfills the Mariella of the second half, who for better or worse finally has a complete picture of her cousin. Once that's done, the rest is just details.So, the slow first half made this book rough going for me, but I also think it's essential to the telling of the story. And the ending feels abrupt, but again... same thing. The very things that feel so unfulfilling also seem perfectly right.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
     August's book club.
    One of those books that a bit of a slow burner - took me several chapters of ploughing through to start to get into it. Jumps backwards & forwards between the present, 10 years ago and the recent past (if that makes sense). Tells of Mariella, a young girl who is very much a product of her upbringing in early 19C London. Father an engineer (of some description) while mother is involved in worthy causes - mainly a home for retired governesses. Mariella stitches. Lots. In the house is a second cousin type young man (Henry) it is telegraphed from early on that they are going to be an item. not necessarily due to any great passion (in fact he's a bit of a damp dishrag, if I'm honest)but because it's easy and sort of expected by both of them. And life is all very ordered (and frankly rather dull). However, Mariella has a cousin, Rose. And I can't say I like Rose any more than Mariella, as Rose is one of those people who are always full of ideas and enthusiasms that consume them. (I think I know a Rose - a conversation ends up being a bit like going 10 rounds with Frank Bruno)They're of an age and the flash backs to 10 years ago revolve around a visit to the home of Rose, her mother & step father & 2 step brothers. Rose is full of how she's going to change the world and how that means Mariella (and everyone else who gets in her way) has to bend over backwards to accommodate her. She strikes me as somewhat blinkered and selfish.
    Rose's step father dies and Rose plus hypochondriac mother are turned out the house - turn up at Mariella's parent's house, expecting to stay. At the same time, Henry is making a name for himself as a surgeon while Rose conceives a desire to be a nurse. Then the Crimean war breaks out - and breaks into the ordered house in London. Henry goes off to solve the Cholera issue (single handedly, he's got such an inflated idea of himself) while Rose takes the first opportunity to head out as a Nurse. then silence. Rose vanishes, Henry falls ill & Mariella is dragged so far out of her comfort zone that she thinks she'll die as she heads out to find Henry, then Rose. As usual, you have no idea what you can do until pushed, and Mariella is pushed further than she ever expects, and has all sorts of squeamish fits over some of the things she has to do, but she does them, and her character becomes formed in this journey. She ends the book a very different person and in a very different situation than she starts it, or, indeed, from how she would have ended up, had the war not intervened.
    Oddly, for a book where I spent a lot of it wanting to slap the lead characters, I actually quite enjoyed it! Mariella is a product of her age but comes on leaps and bounds as the book progresses. There is a completely believable cast of supporting characters to bolster the sometime quite claustrophobic relationship between Mariella and both Henry & Rose. Some nice touches of putting the fiction into a historical framework - although I suspect it is entirely a work of fiction in its details. I may well venture another of her books, based on this one.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I was hopeful about this book because I truly enjoyed The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahon. The plot in "Rose", however, moved slowly and really didn't perk my interest until the main character actually went to Crimea. I was also disappointed with the ending.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a romance story set in the crimean war with a particular interest in looking at the changes in medicine and nursing during this period of history. I found it hard to identify with any of the characters in this book and did not feel for them, which made it hard to really enjoy the story. I did find the medicine parts interesting though.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This book sounded interesting from its description - historical fiction set in 1854 during the Crimean War. Due to a family crisis, my listening to this audiobook was interrupted, and the library loan for it expired. However, I found the characters so unlikeable and their predicaments so unrealistic that there was no motivation to borrow the book again to finish it. A too-speedy reading by the narrator didn't help - it was hard to keep track of the shifts in time.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book wasn't bad, and it managed to hold my interest. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had better understood the hold Rosa had over the other characters. She seemed bratty and spoiled to me, which made everyone else's obsession with her difficult to understand.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Hmmm.

    I mostly liked this, but I had some problems with it.
    Firstly the ending was almost completely unsatisfying for me. I didn't wade my way through this book just for Rosa to be dead.
    Secondly, Rosa's sexuality. Does it really need to be danced around like that? It becomes pretty clear that Rosa is in love with Mariella, but it's never actually explicitly confirmed. I like to have my non-straight characters actively confirmed rather than hinted at. Oh, and of COURSE the woman with same-sex attraction dies, because they always fucking do.

    But the writing was excellent and the story compelling. I'm just a little disappointed, because I loved Rosa, and thought she could be treated a little better by the narrative.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Russia, 1854: the Crimean War grinds on, and as the bitter winter draws near, the battlefield hospitals fill with dying men. In defiance of Florence Nightingale, Rosa Barr - young, headstrong and beautiful - travels to Balaklava, determined to save as many of the wounded as she can. For Mariella Lingwood, Rosa's cousin, the war is contained within the pages of her scrapbook, in her London sewing circle, and in the letters she receives from Henry, her fiance, a celebrated surgeon who has also volunteered to work within the shadow of the guns. When Henry falls ill and is sent to recuperate in Italy, Mariella impulsively decides she must go to him. But upon their arrival at his lodgings, she and her maid make a heartbreaking discovery: Rosa has disappeared. Following the trail of her elusive and captivating cousin, Mariella's epic journey takes her from the domestic restraint of Victorian London to the ravaged landscape of the Crimea and the tragic city of Sebastopol. As she ventures deeper into the dark heart of the conflict, Mariella's ordered world begins to crumble and she finds she has much to learn about secrecy, faithfulness and love.This is the first book I have read by Katharine McMahon, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was convincing and engaging. At no point was I bored or struggling to continue. McMahon writes in a wonderful way, with humour, description and character. I easily slipped into the story and felt I was there.The story does jump between different locations and years, but I did not find this troubling, in fact I feel it enhanced the story. It was fascinating to read about how people at home viewed the war, how to them it was only a small part of their lives and how they thought it should go, compared to what was actually happening out there.I didn't have a favourite character, all of them touched me. I did find Mariella a touch selfish though. She managed to make the whole war centre around her, amazing! I was happy with the way most characters developed and how the story ended. I did guess what the ending was going to be, but it was still sad and a satisfying finish.I was left asking a few questions, but overall I really enjoyed this book.9/10
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I settled into this very quickly. Like other reviewers, I didn't particularly take the characters to heart, especially the wilful Rosa, but I was still keen to pick up the book whenever I got the chance. I think it was the historical detail that I was most impressed with. I'm now quite keen to read the recent Florence Nightingale biography, to find out more about how the wounded of the Crimean War were treated.Again, like others, I was very disappointed by the ending leaving so many questions unanswered. It's not obligatory for an author to tie up all the loose ends, but to leave so many of them unravelled would normally only be found in a novel with Booker Award style pretensions. The fairly conventional narrative structure - jumping back and forward in time is a common device these days - led one to expect a more conventional conclusion. I didn't expect a happy ending, but I did expect a stronger sense of resolution. Had I been reading this on one of those new ebook gadgets I might have wondered if I had failed to download the final chapter!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Tells the story of two cousins, ‘conventional’ Mariella, and ‘rebellious’ Rosa, at the time of the Crimean war. Rosa wants to change the world, and sets her heart on nursing in the Crimea. When she goes missing, Mariella follows. The story has potential, but disappointed me in its execution.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Here is a gripping book. Based on the lives of two women and their choices. Will one stay at home and have the life of staid and steady good works? Will one join Nightingale's nurses and help with the Crimean War wounded. It is also the story of two men, the surgeon who is very sure of everything he does and the career army officer who loves and hates with passion. How did the summer of their childhood affect the rest of their lives? How do the parents and aunts and uncles view their children? This is a gripping book, with a rather confusing ending, but well worth the read!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is the time of The Crimean War, and passionate though impetuous Rosa Barr abandons her stale London life to nurse the wounded. When Rosa vanishes, her cousin and our narrator, Mariella takes it upon herself to find her. Only Mariella is Rosa’s opposite; dutiful, loyal and dull. Mariella finds she is completely unprepared for life on the brink of battlefield. And as all the clues to Rosa’s disappearance point to Mariella’s fiancé, now mad with fever, Mariella is heartbroken. Forced to rise to the occasion, Mariella learns of betrayal, sacrifice and love. The book has its aggravations. The story awkwardly jumps between decades and settings. McMahon also waits until late in the game to give us genuine reasons to care for any of her characters. Also be prepared for many stitching references and detailed clothing descriptions that do support the character, but are very distracting. Its abrupt ending is also unsatisfying, but perhaps because I was finally engrossed in McMahon’s tale. Overall, I’m obliged to admit I did enjoy it. The descriptions of the war’s battles, conditions, and Londoner’s reactions are undeniably engaging. The layers of suspense and brisk pace McMahon builds cement this unexpected treat. I wouldn’t have put this book down during its final fifty pages for anything.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This turned out to be a very disappointing book. There were so many elements that should have made it work from its rich historical setting, to the war going on and the general human dynamics that were taking place. But it fell short in both plot, execution and will win prizes for unsatisfying endings if they give out such awards. Mariella is the quiet and dutiful daughter who is the complete opposite of her cousin Rosa who she spends a very memorable summer with when they were little girls. It is their lifelong friendship and devotion to each other that sets the basis of this book. With the 1854 Crimean war in full swing, Rosa and Mariella's fiance, Henry, set off to do their part in the war effort. Though Mariella remains home that will soon change due to the illness of her fiance and Rosa going missing. Mariella sets off in search of both and supposedly discovers a strength that she never knew she had in being able to withstand the rigors of war and the grief of loss. The author managed to create characters who were hard to relate to or truly like. Rosa is held up as this revolutionary who wants to change the face of nursing, one woman at a time. I have to say that I personally could not stand her and her know it all attitude and quite frankly found her to be reckless and dangerous. Her idealism while admirable in the beginning was annoying after awhile. She wanted the whole world to adopt her notions of how things should play out and when that did not happen, she lost patience and moved on. I found Mariella's journey into a war torn region to find her cousin to be so unrealistic that it was almost funny. It would be one thing to have a man going into the war zone to find his loved one but a young woman doing same armed only with her maid is just ridiculous and unrealistic. And please lets not even mention the smug, I-am-so-great-cause-I am-a-doctor, Henry. What a piece of work he turned out to be. The only character I ended up liking was Max Stukeley and he was not even a major character. The ending was just as bizarre as the rest if the story. I thought I had bought a copy that lost its last chapter and had to go online to make sure of the number of pages in order for me to know that that was indeed the end. It was abrupt and felt like the author had stepped away to get a glass of water and her publisher came in and stole the manuscript before she could conclude. The writing was good but the unlikable characters made the book feel like a chore and by the end I was racing to the end so it could be over and I could read something else.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked that the naive heroine became more sympathetic, but never got anachronistically daring.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm not sure what to say about this book, other than that I just loved reading it. Like, a lot. First of all, I'd never read anything about the Crimean War before, so reading this made me want to go find out more about it. And then there were the relationships, specifically the Mariella/Rosa relationship, which is really the central plot of the book -- a friendship with more than a few overtones of romance (unrequited love, from Rosa's side; unrealized love, from Mariella's). McMahon writes beautifully and I loved how all of the individuals were allowed to grow and change naturally, even if it was for the worse. The ending was horribly bittersweet.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Disappointing ending, can understand the motivation of the characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this story of female cousins of old very touching, having a rather off beat romantic flair, one that may have subtly implied a love deeper than the conventional type. I sensed early on in the plot, that there was a hint or tone that bespoke that one cousins love was more romantically inclined. It was the most exciting part of the story actually. I found myself hoping to find that by the end of the story, that at least the deeply romantic feelings be revealed, so that there would be some sort of closure between the two women. By the stories end, there was no such revelation. The story was not so much a typical love story (for that era) and that was what I found most interesting. To say I delighted in the tale would be overstating, absolutely. I enjoyed it nevertheless, and would advise here that those who enjoy lesbian literature, might find it both a titillating read and a slight disappointment. Unrequited love is something I myself have experienced, and it happens all the time so that fact adds realism to the book. All in all I am glad to have read it and as a novel, I found it engaging.I have given it only three of five stars since, I believe that hint that a lesbian affair between the cousins might eventually ensue at some point or at least a declaration or resolution be met with, (was it just me reading between the lines?) was left unresolved in the story. That having been left to wonder if that motive was even truly implied, it left me feeling sort of unsatisfied with the authors voice, in the end. Things felt a bit unresolved, and I felt left out of some knowledge about this story, that I felt ought perhaps to have been embellished upon.~dreamingtikay