A Wreath of Roses

A Wreath of Roses is a novel by Elizabeth Taylor published in 1949.[1]

A Wreath of Roses
First edition (UK)
AuthorElizabeth Taylor
Cover artistRaymond Russell
LanguageEnglish
Published1949
PublisherPeter Davies (UK)
Alfred A. Knopf (US)
Media typePrint
ISBN1844087123

It was republished in 2011 by Virago Press with an introduction by Helen Dunmore (ISBN 9781844087129).[2]

Plot synopsis

While visiting Frances and Liz, spinster Camilla becomes entangled with a vaguely sinister man she met on the train journey. Liz is struggling with motherhood and the demands of her marriage to a clergyman. Camilla feels her life is dull and uninteresting and the aged Frances has radically changed her painting style due to her increasingly cynical outlook on the world. Camilla finds herself infatuated with the man in spite of her initial mistrust. Her involvement proves unwise and eventually chilling.

Reception

In a 1949 book review in Kirkus Reviews the review summarised; "Affecting in its drama, expert in its execution, this is for the discerning reader."[3] In reviewing the 2011 reissue, Jane Houshman of the Guardian called it a "marvellous, dark novel" and "The writing is so perfectly pitched that one almost resents becoming aware of the novel's elegant structure unfolding itself towards completion."[4]

Adaptation

Granada Television adapted the book for a TV production aired in 1987 on the ITV network in the UK, starring Joanna McCallum, Fabia Drake and Trevor Eve.

References
  1. Catalogue record for first American edition, 1949. Worldcat. OCLC 366093. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  2. "A Wreath of Roses". Little, Brown Book Group. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  3. "A Wreath of Roses". Kirkus Reviews. 7 March 1949.
  4. Houshman, Jane (3 June 2011). "A Wreath of Roses". The Guardian.
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