Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #939 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-27
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

A great novel.
The Rose of Sebastopol is a fantastic read: don't be fooled by those who can't read between the lines. The protagonist, Mariella, is one of those great unreliable narrators (see Lockwood in Wuthering Heights) that you just love to tut at whilst you're reading. What McMahon does successfully is to depict Mariella's coming of age in a convincing way. You might not necessarily like her (come on people, this is done on purpose!) but you'll begin to understand her; she's the archetypal Victorian lady (who just happens to be thrown into the chaos of the Crimea). The other characters are superb - each portraying an aspect of Victorian society; the angel in the house, the reformer, the rebel...Okay it's not that original, but it is so engrossing that you will feel like you've packed your sturdiest petticoats and are heading off to bandage some poor regimental soldier in the siege of Sebastopol too!

Strong story but weak characterisation
The Rose of Sebastopol was spoilt for me by my difficulty in warming to Mariella, the main protagonist. Until the final chapters of the book she seemed a colourless personality, and while I could see why she fell for Rosa, I found Rosa's reciprocal fondness unconvincing. There seemed nothing about Mariella that would attract such devotion from someone so lively and outgoing - I thought her a stereotyped goody-goody. She never seemed to say anything of interest, resisted Rosa at every turn, and generally behaved like a wimp and a spoilsport. But perhaps it was these very differences that appealed to her wayward cousin. If so, the author failed to show it.

That apart, I enjoyed the book, especially as the Crimean War was a period with which I was only passingly familiar. The writing certainly conveyed a sense of what it was like to be there. I just wish Mariella had developed into a more rounded and attractive character somewhat earlier in the story. For this reason alone I'm not sure it's quite worth 4 stars - I'd have given it 7 out of 10 if that had been possible.

Some reviewers found the ending unsatisfactory, but it left a striking image, moving, sad, and probably inevitable. There were loose ends. for sure, but loose ends do not necessarily detract from the overall impression of a book - 'Gone with the Wind' is a prime example.

It isn't brilliant, but I thought it readable and interesting enough to recommend it.

So-so
I found that this book started in a slow and over-convoluted way. The edition I read had several glaring editorial errors which also put me off. I was expecting a great deal more from the hype surrounding this book. I would not buy another book by this author.