Blood and Roses

By Sharon Bainbridge

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557739854
• ISBN13: 9781557739858
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Diamond Books
• Length: 10 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Pride and Prejudice and Vampires

In this charming and surprising novel, vampirism takes a backseat to the comedy of manners that is small-town Victorian life. When mysterious, interestingly pale Sir Geoffrey arrives, two of the village's most eligible young women find themselves swooning at his feet--literally. Clever, Emma-esque Violet teams up with her cousin Elaine to solve a medical mystery that takes them, unescorted, through the most unladylike fields of haemotology and vampirism, while managing to elude both a bloodthirsty fiend and the fiendish matrimonial mechanisations of Elaine's social-climbing mother. Blood and Roses is a delightful comedy of manners, combined with a genuinely clever whodunit and hung with the classic trappings of a vampire romance. That such a marvellous and original vampire novel ever slipped through the cracks is a downright shame.

A vampire stalks a village in the 19th century

"Blood And Roses", published in 1994, is one of the more plot-based Vampire historicals out there. Although billed as a romance, the romantic side of the plot is subordinate to the "whodunit" - who or what is causing the debility and deaths of various young women in the village of High Grimmire. The blurb on the back of my paperback copy was plain wrong. It says "One woman grew pale and weak after meeting Sir Geoffrey. Her life drained away night after night... but not her passion." This leads the reader to believe that this is another passion-centred story with Sir Geoffrey as the culprit and the main heroine, Elaine Portland, as his victim, whereas Elaine doesn't actually get bitten at all. I always wonder who writes the summaries on the back as so often they are inaccurate. For those who like their vampire romances explicit, this book isn't for you - there are no sex scenes and in fact the romance is very underplayed, possibly too much so. I wasn't entirely sure what drew the primary hero and heroine to each other, although the secondary hero and heroine were obviously well matched. Anyway, this story isn't just about Sir Geoffrey and Elaine, although they are important characters in it. We also follow the stories of Violet, Elaine's cousin, and Dr Praisegood, a London expert in blood disorders. The story name-drops a lot of famous people of the time like Pasteur, Lister, Darwin and it's written in an amusing and light style which makes it easy to read. The main bulk of the story is unfolding the sinister events in the village with young women falling ill and some dying and the search by Elaine, Violet and Dr Praisegood for the culprit. We are given lots of red herrings and suspicion is cast on several characters. Unfortunately for the author I guessed both the culprit and some of the secrets held by the other characters long before the end - it didn't detract from my enjoyment but it meant there weren't that many exciting surprises in this book. The setting was interesting, a post-Regency era where gowns have become fussy and manners are still very important. However the ability of the female characters to cope with sudden death, physical danger, fighting and blood was surprising - I always thought women in these eras swooned at the drop of a hat. The action all takes place in the village amongst a fairly small group of characters who also seem to have a high degree of personal freedom to wander around at night hunting vampires. I did enjoy reading this book and I liked the writing style but it wasn't quite good enough to remain on my 'keeper' shelf - a little more focus on the love stories and less obvious plot twists might have improved it for me.

The Vampire in Rural English Society

This book is not set in the Regency period, it's set in 1867, in a small English town where society is limited to a few wealthy and/or well bred families. Therefore, when a young, unmarried baronet takes up residence on his family estate it naturally causes a great stir among the mamas of eligible young ladies.Meanwhile, girls working in the local mill are falling ill at an alarming rate. Their condition is diagnosed by the local doctor as chlorosis or "green sickness." They become weak and tired and eventually can no longer work. A second doctor, William Praisegood, comes down from London to investigate this peculiar outbreak and the mill owner cooperates, seeing a way to find out what is troubling his employees without paying a penny.Sounds like the start of a bad vampire film, doesn't it? But it's not. It's the beginning of an entertaining book with a bit of romance and more than a bit of black humor. It's a combination mystery novel (not a really impressive mystery)and comedy of manners. The Portlands, a wealthy manufacturer's family have two daughters, the stunning Guenevere and the practical and intelligent Elaine. There is also an impoverished orphaned niece, Violet Webb, who resides with them. Violet, who has a scientific bent, finds herself drawn into Dr. Praisegood's efforts at tracking down the cause of the disease afflicting the mill workers.When Sir Geoffrey arrives Mrs. Portland immediately begins to make plans to marry Guenevere into the aristocracy despite the Baronet's rumored ill health. Guenevere thinks this is a fine plan. Elaine and Violet, on the other hand. try to curb their mother's and sister's worse excesses. I recommend this book highly for those who enjoy a good social comedy and a vampire story together. It's very well researched and true to period.

A rousing vampire story and regency romance combined!

This is a great story. Full of independent-minded women straining against the patriarchal values of regency-era society, and wonderful, intelligent, and somewhat special (ahem) men. The writing is texturally superb, and the characters witty. The ending will definitely surprise you, but if you read it a second time, the clues are there. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good (but not too gory) vampire tale, those who like supernatural romance stories, or people who, like me, find most regencies that romanticize 'the ton' obnoxious (this one is amusingly scathing of that society). All in all, this is a fun book! Also, there is no sex (explicit or otherwise), making this a 'gentle' romance.