Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6575 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
"absorbing" My Weekly "Brilliant... if you like Jane Austen, you'll probably like this. It's beautifully written" -- Amanda Ross

Review
"absorbing" (My Weekly )

"Brilliant... if you like Jane Austen, you'll probably like this. It's beautifully written" (Amanda Ross )

Sue Magee, THE BOOK BAG
'I was fully immersed in my reading and bitterly disappointed when it ended.'

Customer Reviews

a great though unchallenging read
having just finished reading this book i would say that i enjoyed it. the writing is superbly evocative of war and death. the deatils of the horrific conditions nurses and soldiers alike faced during the crimea are mesmerisingand indeed it is because of this that i recommend this book. my main criticism of the novel is its failure to delineate any believable characters. i did not care for any of them, because none of them, including the narrator, appeared real. the narrator herself, mariella, meant to be found insipid and spoilt, finds herself in this nightmare situation - her fiance is dying, and has disclosed that he is actually in love with mariella's cousin who is now lost somewhere in the crimea. it is likely then that the two people she is closest to in the world have not only been unfaithful to her but are also facing near certain death. i would expect even the most phlegmatic of characters to express anger, frustration and despair. We get none of this - Mariella simply slips from her protected suburban life into a war zone with very little trouble or anxiety - indeed she appears born to it, and does evoke some respect for her courage. however, with no introspection from her this radical change seems unbelievable. similarly, rosa, meant to be the vital force of the novel, is completely undeveloped and the uncritical presentation of her idealism makes her annoying. none of the possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities of the characters, which would be fascinating, are explored and this makes what could have been an absolutely compelling novel merely an adequate one

Wonderful historical fiction
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

Underwhelming (2.5 stars)
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.