The Rose Gardener
A Novel
Charlotte Link
- A
- dark
- secret
- hangs
- over
- the
- old
- rose
- gardener's
- house
- in
- the
- village
- of
- Le
- Variouf.
- And
- all
- the
- clues
- seem
- to
- point
- to
- its
- inhabitants'
- past—to
- the
- years
- of
- World
- War
- II,
- when
- the
- idyllic
- island
- of
- Guernsey
- was
- occupied
- by
- German
- troops...The
- young
- teacher
- Franca
- Palmer
- is
- at
- the
- end
- of
- her
- rope.
- Her
- marriage
- is
- reaching
- a
- crisis
- point,
- and
- she
- barely
- feels
- capable
- of
- continuing
- to
- face
- the
- demands
- of
- her
- career,
- her
- husband,
- and
- day-to-day
- life.
- In
- a
- mad
- rush
- she
- leaves
- her
- comfortable
- home
- in
- Berlin
- and
- flees
- to
- the
- island
- of
- Guernsey
- in
- the
- English
- Channel;
- there
- she
- rents
- herself
- a
- room
- in
- the
- old
- rose
- gardener's
- house
- in
- the
- village
- of
- Le
- Variouf.
- In
- a
- short
- time,
- a
- peculiar,
- guarded
- friendship
- develops
- between
- her
- and
- her
- host,
- Beatrice
- Shaye.
- The
- older
- woman
- has
- lived
- on
- the
- charmingly
- situated
- property
- for
- many
- years
- with
- Helene
- Feldmann—tied
- together
- by
- fate
- in
- a
- relationship
- that
- is
- marked
- with
- repugnance
- and
- hatred.
- The
- two
- women
- appear
- to
- be
- bound
- to
- one
- another
- in
- a
- mysterious,
- incomprehensible
- way—dating
- back
- to
- the
- year
- 1940,
- when
- during
- the
- occupation
- of
- the
- Channel
- Islands
- by
- German
- troops,
- Helene
- and
- her
- husband
- Erich,
- a
- high-ranking
- officer,
- took
- Beatrice
- in
- as
- if
- she
- was
- their
- own
- child.
- From
- the
- beginning,
- the
- Feldmanns
- competed
- for
- Beatrice's
- favor,
- all
- the
- more
- so
- since,
- where
- his
- wife
- was
- concerned,
- Erich
- felt
- only
- contempt.
- So
- it
- was
- that
- with
- his
- death
- on
- May
- 1st,
- 1945,
- an
- agonizing
- phase
- in
- both
- women's
- lives
- came
- to
- an
- end.
- But
- nevertheless,
- a
- shadow
- still
- hangs
- over
- the
- house.
- And
- one
- day,
- another
- May
- 1st,
- there
- is
- again
- a
- death
- in
- Le Variouf.
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