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My Name Is Rose
Written partly in the form of a journal and partly in conventional narrative, Theodora Keogh's new novel is a kind of 'examination of conscience,' by a young wife whose marriage is breaking up after seven years." Set in Paris, this was the sixth novel by this somewhat overlooked author (a granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt), the psychological dimensions of whose work has been compared with that of Patricia Highsmith, and whose exploration of gay and lesbian themes brought her a certain amount of notoriety during her active writing years (1950-1962).
Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Theodora Keogh
23 books3 followers A granddaughter of president Theodore Roosevelt, Keogh wrote nine novels during the period of 1950 to 1962. Her novels tended to focus on characters with psychological conflicts and often dark sides to their personalities. In this regard, her themes are similar to those of novelist Patricia Highsmith.Theodora’s works explored such dark areas and themes as rape, incest, double lives, and a doctor’s psychological and emotional fascination with a child criminal. Her novels were also noteworthy for exploring gay and lesbian themes, which were daring topics for the era in which she was writing. Such themes brought Theodora a measure of notoriety in her day. Her novels were largely neglected after the 1960s but have recently been rediscovered and reissued. (summary ex Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 6, 2026
24th book read in 2026
Theodora Keogh wrote nine novels before she threw in the towel and moved to the South to live on a mountain and raise chickens. I have read five of her novels. Some of them are hard to find. She wrote in the 1950s and 1960s but she did not write like others in those decades wrote, especially women. She gets right down into the hearts, the emotions, the observations, the frustrations of women and sometimes children. Because of her style and subject matter, she was labeled as a pulp writer.
Rose is a woman in a marriage of seven years which is disintegrating, as is she. She writes in a diary, to a “you” she cannot identify. She wonders if this “you” is God, but she also doubts that. Interspersed with her diary entries are passages of straight narrative about the people and interactions around her, which makes the story a sort of kaleidoscope.
In her apartment building in Paris are diverse characters, some of whom behave oddly, some of whom are even more unhappy than Rose. She tells her journal, “My name is Rose. It doesn’t really suit me. I’m not the Rose type of girl; but I like it anyway.” As one reads through the novel, one watches Rose come apart, first into two parts, then into dissolution.
For reasons I don’t want to look at too closely, I am drawn to stories about women coming apart. This is one and has a strange power.
Theodora Keogh wrote nine novels before she threw in the towel and moved to the South to live on a mountain and raise chickens. I have read five of her novels. Some of them are hard to find. She wrote in the 1950s and 1960s but she did not write like others in those decades wrote, especially women. She gets right down into the hearts, the emotions, the observations, the frustrations of women and sometimes children. Because of her style and subject matter, she was labeled as a pulp writer.
Rose is a woman in a marriage of seven years which is disintegrating, as is she. She writes in a diary, to a “you” she cannot identify. She wonders if this “you” is God, but she also doubts that. Interspersed with her diary entries are passages of straight narrative about the people and interactions around her, which makes the story a sort of kaleidoscope.
In her apartment building in Paris are diverse characters, some of whom behave oddly, some of whom are even more unhappy than Rose. She tells her journal, “My name is Rose. It doesn’t really suit me. I’m not the Rose type of girl; but I like it anyway.” As one reads through the novel, one watches Rose come apart, first into two parts, then into dissolution.
For reasons I don’t want to look at too closely, I am drawn to stories about women coming apart. This is one and has a strange power.
Displaying 1 of 1 review