Product Description

An enthralling novel of mystery, adventure and romance

Before his death in 1609, the brilliant Elizabethan spy, astrologer and mathematician John Dee hid many of his papers, believing that the world was not prepared for the ideas they held. In spring 2003, Dees many times great granddaughter and final holder of the secret was forced to pass the enigmatic legacy to one of her two sons. Diana chose her passionate, tempestuous younger boy, leaving a tiny silver key with a note: For Will, when he is something, or someone, that he is not now.

Summer 2003: While seriously ill Lucy King awaits heart surgery in London, Will travels Europe seeking to decipher the clues in the ancient document, and find a lock to fit the key. It is a search which will leave him and Lucy inextricably linked. But Will is not the only one trying to reach the truth at the heart of the Rose Labyrinth

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #197273 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
'A gripping and adventurous tale...bewitching' -- Woman 20080331 'Pacy action...a real page-turner' -- Bath Chronicle 20080327 'Packed with well-researched references this literary labyrinth never fails to surprise and entertain...a fascinating debut' -- North West Evening Mail 20080329 'A fascinating fictional debut' -- Irish Examiner 20080329 'A compelling page-turner' -- Bolton Evening News 20080329 'Part thriller, part historical novel and part treasure hunt, this is a compelling page-turner' -- Glasgow Evening Times 20080329 'Sydney's Titania Hardie is a student of esoteria and her studies into Renaissance and Elizabethan magi such as Giardano Bruno and John Dee provide a solid and compelling framework for this novel' -- Herald Sun, Melbourne 20080329 'Packed with well-researched references, this literary labyrinth never fails to surprise and entertain as the reader and characters embark on a thrilling adventure! A fascinating debut' -- Eastern Daily Press 20080329

From the Publisher
The Rose Labyrinth is a unique debut novel and puzzle of mystery, adventure and revelation.

The book comes in a stunning hardback case, and tucked inside are all the documents the characters must unearth to decipher the mystery - riddles, maps, number puzzles and snippets of literature and poetry. You can solve the riddles with the characters, or even before them, or simply lose yourself in a gripping, romantic novel with a historical twist.

From the Inside Flap
From Will's document

Our two souls therefore . . .

All that is ablaze in the Field of Flowers! Pluck forth a bloom, and think on what has been; on centuries of betrayal, and pain, and misunderstanding ...

I am what I am, and what I am is what I am. I have a will to be what I am, and what I will be is only what I am. If I have a will to be, I will to be no more than what I was. If I was what I am willed to be, yet they ever will be wondering what I am or what I ever was. I want to change the Wall, and make my will.

That I am that same wall; the truth is so;
And this the cranny is, right and sinister,
Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.

Each pair adds up to every jointed piece; the bottom left is a square; bottom right is a square; top left is a square; top right is a square. The heart is a square too.

Which are one . . .

Customer Reviews

"In other words, it's a swizz"
Lucy felt like a disappointed child...................and so do I.

To quote Lucy, "So in other words, it's a swizz"

The first handful of chapters, when the mystery is being revealed, are interesting and promising and I thought I was in for a good read. But it's clear early on that if you don't know your Shakespeare, Dante, the Bible, Hermetic texts, the Medici...and, and, and...then you'll find it really hard to 'connect' with any of the characters. It seems that every single person to grace the pages have an inordinate amount of knowledge of these very things (and more). It's a stretch of the imagination to believe that everyone from stylists and photographers to 7 year old boys have a firm grasp of these things.

The last few chapters try to draw you back again and it seems interesting (if you make it that far), but the conlcusion leaves the heroine with the thought "it's a swizz", so what hope have we ordinary mortals? The ending is a huge let down and really, really, really vexed me.

Oh, and if you don't speak (or read) French, you'll miss a bit of the early story because it's assumed you DO and no translations are given for French passages of converstaion.

All in all, the book was disappointing. The author is clearly very well read and her husband has put in countless hours in research on her behalf (as per the blurb on the back cover), but if you're looking for a gripping page turner in the style of Dan Brown, you'll be disappointed too.

THanks to a clever marketing ploy, the book looks fabulous and the cards that come with the hardback edition make it seem special, but it really isn't.

The mutant offspring of Dan Brown and Barbara Cartland
I recommend this book without reservation as one of the worst you will ever read, but the fact it's so stupendously, unbelievably bad makes for an incredily funny read.

The plot is beyond ludicrous, incorporating Dr Dee, Rosicrucians Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, Isis and Osiris , various other Greek myths, The Wizard of Oz and, as I haven't got to the end of it yet, I'll not be surprised if the Easter Bunny pops up too.

Men are tall , handsome and strong, women are frail but feisty but every-one, irrespective of their day job is a scholar of the utterly arcane. The dialogue is excruciating. No-one speaks or thinks like any of these people , really it is laugh out loud bad.

Disappointing -In The Extreme
The Rose Labyrinth

Bank Holiday Monday - wet and windy. I was looking forward to unplugging the phone locking the door, and loosing my self in a good book.

The Rose Labyrinth was by book of choice. I'm afraid it was a wasted day.

The characters were not engaging,. The plot lines were very ragged.

This was a confused book, as it didn't tick the box as a thriller, romance, or historical intrigue. It didn't peak my curiosity about the subject matter, as there are so many authors who have woven the historical myths into their stories far better than Titania Hardie. So much potential wasted.