The Red Rose (Regency Romance)

By Mary Balogh

Book Overview

Edward, the Earl of Raymore, is one of those alpha unforgettable men you sometimes run across in a book. He is so scarred from manipulative women - ones he trusted - that you can understand his hatred... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451141571
• ISBN13: 9780451141576
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: New Amer Library
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.7" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Red Rose

This book is a very enjoyable read. Excellent dialog and the plot lines are complex eonough without becoming convoluted. Great summer entertainment.

fizzled out at the end

I am loving reading all Mary Balogh's old books and love most of them. But I am finding that she tends to wind me up and then the final coming together of the main characters is all over in a flash - this is the case with this book. Nevertheless, it's still a keeper for me.

Very intense male character!

Edward, the Earl of Raymore, is one of those alpha unforgettable men you sometimes run across in a book. He is so scarred from manipulative women - ones he trusted - that you can understand his hatred of the whole sex! Now he is the guardian to two young women ... debutantes ... just what he hates! He brings them to London with the idea of marrying them off as quickly as possible. Lady Sylvia Marsh is a blond, biddable beauty. She quickly takes to the London scene and soon is betrothed to an appropriate man. But appearances are deceiving. Though she is sweet, she finds her affection is not directed at her betrothed but his brother! Can she extract herself from this horrible position? Rosalind Darcey is a different creature all together. Tall and dark, she also has a physical infirmity which may prevent an advantageous marriage. But she longs for someone to love her as she is. Even worse, her dream love, an ideal male - is personified in Edward. And Edward seems to hate her for her outgoing personality. He pushes her to accept the first proposal that comes her way ... all the while engaging in some passionate encounters with her! But Rosalind does not waiver and rather than accept an older widower, she is courted (and slightly compromised) by Sir Bernard Crawleigh. But why does her heart beat so for the remote and angry Edward? I loved that Edward would listen to Rosalind play the pianoforte and harpsichord from the anteroom behind the music room. He agonized with her as she learned difficult pieces. She became his passion because of her beauty and her musical nature. But would he lose her to another. Could he accept and trust a woman again. He does have difficulty in trusting her and his fights with her over "promiscuous" behavior do get tedious. All the characters were well fleshed. I enjoyed the various places the girls attended from the theater to house parties. Craleigh was an interesting character. I never felt easy about him. But I truly enjoyed the confrontational and passionate personalities of Edward and Rosalind. The weird references to the song she sang from a Robert Burns poem was a bit over the top but was the tie in to Edward thinking of Rosalind as his Red Rose so had to be included. Very enjoyable book.

Insightful.

I believe a book is commendable when the reader doesn't want to leave the story. In "Red Rose", Mary Balogh writes a beautiful romance, she fills the pages with touching words, thus encouraging her reader's attachment.Some argue there is a fine line between love and hate; in these pages, Balogh capitalizes on this belief. Rosalind Dacey stands alone in life. Her outlook: single she is, and single she will remain, despite her guardian's plans. Edward Marsh, the new Earl of Raymore, has another outlook: it is his duty to marry his ward off, and marry her off he will. Two separate outlooks, two tug-of-war attitudes. Mary Balogh sheds much light on the shaping of these two outlooks. Rosalind believes no man could tolerate her disability, her dark hair, and her unfashionable full-shapely figure. Edward Marsh hates all women, he wished to heaven he did not need them, unfortunately there is that bodily craving that has to be satisfied. For women, the early part of the nineteen-century was complex. In the Regency era, men governed society and women had little control over their own lives. Mary Balogh does a fine job demonstrating this point to her reader. She wrote an interesting book that is both entertaining and enlightening.Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.