The Tea Rose

By Jennifer Donnelly

Book Overview

The Tea Rose is a towering, old-fashioned story imbued with a modern sensibility--a sweeping epic of a family's destruction, murder and revenge, love lost and won again, and one determined woman's quest to survive and triumph.

East London, 1888--a city apart. It is a place of shadow and light where thieves, dreamers, and working folk mingle, where children play in cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, dares to dream of a life beyond tumbledown wharves and gaslit alleys. She hopes to open a shop of her own alongside her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but faith in each other, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their future.

But Fiona's world is shattered when the actions of a dark and brutal man take nearly everything--and everyone--she holds dear. Fearing for her own life, she is forced to flee London for New York. There, her indomitable spirit propels her rise from a modest West Side shopfront to the top of Manhattan's tea trade. Yet her old ghosts do not rest quietly. To silence them, Fiona must return to the London of her youth, where a deadly confrontation with her past holds the key to her future.

Authentic and deeply moving, Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose is an unforgettable historical novel.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312378025
• ISBN13: 9780312378028
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Heartbreaking, Thrilling, yet Hopeful

Just keep reading and it gets better and better. Loved it.

Love this book and the series

Certain books stay with you. I absolutely love these three books. They are long but still I didn't want them to end.

Wonderful Reading in this Historical Book

I enjoy learning about history i am not aware of while reading a well researched novel. This book goes from the early 20th century slums of London to America. It is a real “page turner,” but you will enjoy reading this and the two other books in this series that are different love stories but involve interesting situations continuing with the characters from this first novel.

Among one of the best books I have read in my life!!!!

Really unique story line. The characters are well done. I am so happy that the story continues in 2 more huge books. I am 70 yrs old and have been an avid reader all my life and this is one of the utmost best. There were no parts of the story that dragged and I finished it in good time. (Jack the Ripper plays a major role)

Historical romance and perseverance

I absolutely loved this book and immediately ordered the next two in the series. The main character is vivacious with great supporting characters. I felt like I was in London and living with her on her journey. I'll reread this one for sure.

Amazing

This is wonderful, memorable trilogy!

Excellent Read

This series is certainly one of my favorite books. Ms Donnelly has created characters that you instantly can identify with and fall in love with. Read the whole series (3 books) nonstop. This is the kind of book of characters that you are still thinking of weeks and years later. I can always hope Ms Donnelly will continue the story she created with yet another book, but know that after all these years it won't happen. If you love history and the intrigue of a good story, I would guarantee you will love this series of books!

Excellent - I didn't want it to end!

While Jennifer Donnelly has received well-deserved rave reviews for A Northern Light, it's this book, my first Donnelly read, which got to me. More saga than romance, the first part of The Tea Rose follows charming heroine Fiona Finnegan, a teenager living in 1888 Whitechapel. She has precious little, but she has her dreams, and her true love in childhood sweetheart Joe Bristow. But things eventually turn horribly wrong for the two. Joe, because of his own mistakes, is forced into a loveless marriage; Fiona loses not only her fiancé but most of her family as well, and then almost loses her own life. Fleeing from the man responsible with 5-year old brother Seamie in tow, she rebuilds her life in New York, finding a new surrogate family of relatives, friends and neighbors, and eventually becoming an extremely wealthy woman. While one review points out that there are some unlikely behaviors, especially Fiona's acceptance of another character's homosexuality, I never felt that was the case. I believe someone who has lost as much as Fiona has would not be likely to turn away from her friends. The third part of the novel picks up in 1898. Both Joe, of whom we are given occasional glimpses, and Fiona, are extremely successful financially but lonely and in many ways lost emotionally, still pining for each other on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Will they be given another chance at love? Will the guilty party pay? Well, what do you think? Donnelly has done her research, and manages to convey atmosphere and mood extremely well. With the exception of the slightly slow start, this is a real page-turner, and a very moving read. At over 700 pages (in the edition I read), it's also a real find for the speed-readers among us. Can't wait for the promised sequel! Also Recommended: A Northern Light, of course.

A FAT JUICY READ........AND A TOUCHING STORY

There is something for everyone reading The Tea Rose. There is romance, action, murder, destruction, greed, ambition and even revenge. There are great characters in this story that you will not forget easily, especially Fiona Finnegan who is the central figure with great strength and fierce ambition.From Whitechapel in East London in 1988 to New York City in all it elegance and glory, and the a return back to East London ten years later, we see Fiona Finnegan grow from a young girl into womanhood and we root for her, for she touches our lives, and we hold her close to our hearts as she faces a mixture of disappointments, stumbling blocks and successes, meeting each the only way she knows how.......with an enduringly tough spirit.This is the first of Jennifer Donnelly's work that I have read and may I say it was extremely pleasurable for me. I hope there will be more from Ms. Donnelly for us readers who also have enjoyed the Tea Rose to the hilt. This book deserves more than five stars. Highly recommended!!! Heather P Marshall

10 stars if I could

This is one of the best books I have ever read, which, from someone who reads at least four books a month, is saying a lot. From the moment I started this book, everything else had to be put on hold; I simply couldn't put it down. Set in the late 1800's in England, this book centers around the life of Fiona Finnegan, a 17 year old woman who faces more tragedy and adversity than any person should ever have to deal with. In the beginning, we are introduced to the love of her life, Joe. The relationship these two share is a pure and beautiful love that seems destined for great things. They have plans to marry and open a store together one day, until a painful event tears them apart.We also meet Fiona's family, whom, aside from her baby brother, are tragically taken from her. Her father is about to become the leader of a Union party strike, and as a result, the evil of one man comes to fruition. The family has little money, with everyone pitching in, and when Fiona discovers the truth about what happens to her father, she is forced to flee England for America with her little brother.The relationship between Joe and Fiona was one string that tugged me through the entire book, as well as the determination and tenacity of Fiona. The friendships and relationships Fiona developed after leaving London were amazing. She had such an impact on every life that she touched, the reader included. Fiona takes herself from rags to riches, opening a chain of highly succesful shops. At the same time in London, Joe does the same. It is amazing as a reader to watch these two live their parallel lives, unaware of the longing they each share for one another. Of equal importance is other relationships Fiona has with men, all of which prove her love for Joe is real as is his for her. There are so many parallel sub plots running through out this book -- too many to mention, too much that could be given away. From beginning to end, this book was one of my most satisfying reads ever. I thought I would be sad to see this book end, but it was tied up so beautifully that it felt complete.

Excellent Characters & Captivating Story

Jennifer Donnelly quickly grabs your attention and totally captivates you with the story of star crossed lovers, Fiona Finnegan and Joe Bristow. I loved this book so much that I found it very difficult to put down and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading it. Fiona and Joe are the perfect couple who share the same dream of opening a shop and they are very much in love. However, their circumstances change for the worst when Joe is tricked into a marriage to another woman and Fiona must flee to New York with her 4 year old brother to escape from the men who murdered her father. This is a story of true survival after life throws you a curve ball and it lives on in your mind for weeks after you have turned the last page. The Characters in this book are very well written and I really began to care for them, especially Fiona.I'm anxiously awaiting a second book by Jennifer Donnelly and will purchase it as soon as its released. I highly recommend reading The Tea Rose to everyone.

Rags-to-Riches Tale of Romance, Betrayal, and Revenge

I would give this book 10 stars if I could. In lieu of that, I'm recommending it to everyone I know as the "must read" book of the year. Not only does this have as romantic a love story as you could ever want, but it also features an epic sweep of Victorian London and late 19th century New York, a diabolical killer, and an all-consuming plot for revenge. At the center of all of this is Fiona Finnegan, an endearing heroine who lifts herself from the slums of London to become the queen of tea merchants residing in an upscale 5th Avenue mansion.The story telling is so intimate and compelling that I did not want to ever put this one down. Fiona captures your heart when you first meet her clutching twelve pounds, two shillings, and a dream in a battered cocoa tin. When she finds her perfect love affair shattered by another woman's wanton seduction and a vicious murder decimates her family, Fiona's staunch character is tested to its limits. A barrage of even more tragic events leads her to a heart-stopping escape to New York and more problems to overcome. In addition to Fiona, the secondary characters are so well drawn that you feel connected to them immediately. Her loving father Paddy, her mam, brothers Charlie and Seamie as well as Uncle Michael, her dear friend Nicholas, and many others will capture your imagination. But it is Fiona's love for the unforgettable Joe Bristow and her steadfast goal of destroying her father's killer that will keep you glued to the pages and relishing every delicious moment of this story.