The Rose of Sebastopol, Katharine McMahon
The Rose of Sebastopol, Katharine McMahon
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The Rose of Sebastopol
A Novel

Author: Katharine McMahon

Narrator: Josephine Bailey

Unabridged: 12 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/19/2009


Synopsis

In 1854, beautiful, adventurous Rosa Barr travels to the Crimean battlefield with Florence Nightingale's nursing corps. A headstrong idealist, longing to break out of the rigid confines of life as a young lady, Rosa is determined to make a difference in the world.

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 her fiancé, Henry—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 her arrival at his lodgings, she makes a heartbreaking discovery: Rosa has disappeared without a trace. Following the trail of her elusive 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, where she encounters Rosa's dashing stepbrother, a reckless cavalry officer whose complex past—and future—is inextricably bound up with her own. As Mariella's quest leads her deeper into the dark heart of the conflict, her ordered world begins to crumble, and she finds she has much to learn about secrecy, faithfulness, and love.

About Katharine McMahon

Katharine McMahon, a former English teacher, writing instructor, and actress, is a historical novelist living in Hertfordshire, England. Her many books include The Alchemist's Daughter, Footsteps, Confinement, and A Way Through the Woods.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon

Mariella, a young Victorian lady, spends her days sewing and writing to her surgeon fiancé, Henry, who has left England to serve in the Crimean War. Rosa, (as unlike her cousin Mariella in character as she is similar in appearance) also has ambitions to serve, as one of Florence Nightingale’s new br......more

Goodreads review by Zoella

The Rose of Sebastopol is a fantastic read. Don't be fooled by those who can't read between the lines. The protagonist, Mariella, is one of those great unreliable narrators (Lockwood in Wuthering Heights) that you just love to tut at whilst you are reading. Enjoy her transformation. What McMahon doe......more

This is the second time I've read this and I enjoyed it even more than the first. At first, you have very little sympathy for the maleable Mariella, who seems to lack any personality or any desire other than to sew her way complacently through life. I wanted to give her a good shake. Her cousin Rosa......more