Cometh Up as a Flower: An Autobiography

by Rhoda Broughton

Nell LeStrange is torn between her own passion and her father’s wishes.

Amazingly modern both in themes and style, this sensation novel was scandalous in its own time due to the heroine’s unapologetic sexual attraction to her lover and her objective evaluation of loveless marriage as a form of self-sale.

Genres: Classics, 19th Century, Fiction, Victorian, British Literature, Feminism

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1867

About the author

Rhoda Broughton was a popular British (Welsh) novelist and short story writer.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found lots of good reasons to pickup a book by Rhoda Broughton. She's been published by Virago, she's been published by Victorian Secrets, I've noticed that Lisa has read a good number of her books .....

It took me a while to decide what to read, and I'm not quite sure now what it was that put this book, her second novel, published in 1867, at the head of the queue, I just remember reading something about it somewhere. I'm so glad that I did because I loved this book, and I was smitten with its heroine from the very first page.

"When I die I'll be buried under that big old ash tree over yonder 0 the one that Dolly and I cut our names on with my old penknife nine, ten years ago now. I utterly reject and abdicate my reserved seat in the family mausoleum. I don't see the fun of undergoing one's dusty transformation between a mouldering grandpa and a mouldered great-grandpa. Every English gentleman or lady likes to have a room to themselves when they are alive. Why not when they are dead."

I couldn't help but love a girl who could declaim like that, who could open a conversation like that.

Nell Lestrange will tell her own story, eager to share every emotion and every insight, every idea and impression. Her voice is wonderful, because her head and her heart were clearly so very, very full.

There are times when her digressions weigh the story down, but there are far more times when it was lovely to read what she had to say about love, life, books, religion ....

Nell is one of two daughters of that last in the line of a great family, that can trace its lineage back to William the Conqueror. That great family is in decline, and her elderly, widowed father only hopes that he will live to see one, or maybe both daughters, marry well.

He didn't realise that his daughter was desperately in love, that she had met the great love of her life as she was idling, alone in an untended graveyard.

That leaves Nell facing a terrible choice, because her lover is poor and because she adores her father and she knows that his dearest wish is to see her settled with another suitor who is so very eligible. She agonises over her decision, and try as she might she cannot find a way for her lover and her father and herself to be happy.

Nell's sister forces her hand.

At first it seems that Dolly Lestrange, four years older than her sister, is simply too sensible, too practical, and unable to understand her sister's passion, but as the story unfolds it is clear that the truth is worth than that, that Dolly is worse than that, and the consequences for Nell are tragic.

The story is simple, but it is made special by the way it is told.

Nell's voice was underpinned by excellent writing, and Rhoda Broughton's understanding of character and her command of the story stopped this from becoming a sensation novel. It's a very human story of love, passion, betrayal, loss ...

In its day it was deemed shocking - because Nell spoke of meeting her lover covertly, of enjoying his attention, of her reluctance to be intimate with the man she might have to marry - but there's nothing at all that would shock a reader now.

The social events that Nell was pitched into were a little dull, but they were enlivened by the wit and irreverence of her observations.

The father-daughter relationship was beautifully drawn. They loved each other, they understood each other's strengths and weaknesses, and their dialogue was pitch perfect. Nell had been left to run wild after her mother's death, but still she tried to shield her father from the worries of running his household and the creditors that were beating at his door.

Nell could and would give everything for the people she loved, but without the she was lost.

I appreciated that Hugh - the suitor Nell was steered towards - was a good and decent man. He was just blind to some things.

Nell couldn't bring herself to care for him, or to play the role that was expected of her, and so there could only be one conclusion.

It was tragic, but beautiful in a way that only fiction can be.

'Cometh Up as a Flower' is not a happy story, but it is wonderfully engaging.

I am so glad that I met Nell, and I am quite

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful passages of fiction is Heathcliff’s exclamation upon the moor as he learns of his beloved’s death and says, “I cannot live without my life. I cannot live without my soul.”
When, in the first pages of Cometh Up as a Flower, our heroine, Nelly LeStrange, meets the love of her life while sitting alone in a forlorn graveyard, I was delighted to once again be entering into a world of unrequited love, set against the haunted landscape of the English countryside. Here, Broughton tells the tale of a declining family, whose only hope lies in one or both daughters marrying into one of society’s well-to-do families. Nelly’s dilemma of choosing love over obligation is raw-ly depicted through her agonizing declarations of devotion to her lover and her father, and the bitter loss that she suffers in each of these relationships. The wounds that Nelly suffers in the wake of her choices are exacerbated by the harsh betrayal of her sister, which we learn of by degrees and piece together in the books concluding chapters, which hold the cruel realization of our worst assumptions concerning Dolly LeStrange.
Broughton effortlessly exposes the tumultuous familial dynamics that come to play in such a crisis, and her diabolical portrayal of sister Dolly is intriguing and impressive. Dolly may well by the most sinister snipe of a female villain that I’ve encountered in fiction for quite some time. I truly loved to hate her. It is also notable that Broughton makes Hugh (the third wheel in the Nelly-lover-lover triangle) a thoroughly likeable character, despite his naivety and his denseness. Hugh plays the fool and I pity him for it. The writing is eloquent, yet the deep-rooted themes of revenge, betrayal, and hopelessness manifests themselves in quiet, subtle moments.
Two caveats: The middle of the novel begins to read like an Austen; too many dances and seemingly trite occurrences. Don’t let that deter you from finishing the novel. The latter portion of the book will suck you in.
Also, the assertions that this novel unfolds “racy” exhortations of a woman’s “erotic desires” is a bunch of malarkey. I was sorely disappointed that this novel was so tame in that department. I recommend this book-with all its dark beauty-to fans of the Brontes. However, you will have to fill in any sensational moments that you feel are merited in the book on your own.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the wit when it appeared, sadly not often.

I liked the courtship, it was (I think) like it could have been then.

I have found the characters very consistent (which isn't a norm in novels), especially Dolly and Hugh.

And I appreciated the book that was written in times it took place. Descriptions of everyday life were priceless. I like to watch through the eyes of such authors. Moreover, Nell's voice was fascinating.

...the old man with whom I walked long ago in the pleasant fields gathering buttercups, in a white frock and a blue sash — the old man with whom I have had so many little jokes, and such loving little tiffs, he who seems to be woven into the fabric of my very life. Warp and woof must be parted now; the threads of his life be dissevered from mine...

But there was (in later parts) too much Victorian drama if such term exists. And there were too many contemplations about death, god, etc., at least as to my taste.

For more I recommend Jane's review

[3.5 rounding up.]

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a teenage girl’s diary- she fights with her sister, is best friends with her dad, cracks jokes when she’s supposed to be serious, is crushingly self conscious (made worse when her cheeks flare up with embarrassment), she’s hysterical, she feels everything so extremely, she loves spring and loathes winter, she falls completely in love after one meeting, she overanalyses everything and everyone, she applies books to every situation, she’s me<3

[James Askari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broughton's is a lively and unexpected voice for those for whom the 1860s are Trollope, George Eliot and sensation fiction--though perhaps less for those anticipating Meredith. Broughton was in her early twenties when she wrote this circulating library favourite; and her narrator and heroine, Nell, is twenty-two, looking back on the events of hee girlhood only three years earlier. Each chapter begins, almost, with a sententious or mock-sententious passage of moral reflection, but the novel's theme is again courtship--the heartlessness, precariousness and intensity of the marriage market. Nell and Dolly are the daughters of a decayed house. Their mother died soon after having Nell. Their beloved father is sunk in lassitude, resigned and agreeably prickly, but unable to pay so much as his butcher's bill. At nineteen, Nell is an intelligent but crashing ingénue. The classically beautiful, characterically designing Dolly is anything but.

Interestingly, the intrigue turns not on Nell's dealings with the two men who love her--the local squire, dull but honourable, and a penniless Major in the lancers, but on her relationship with her sister. For Dolly, money is a god. She would sell her soul for it--for a good match. Without it, how could either child restore their father’s spirits or think of lifting the family fortunes? What power of good or evil could they have? The magnificently witty, resourceful and manipulative Dolly gets all the best tunes, for most of the novel at least.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this because of Harriet Beecher Stowe talking shit about it in Pink and White Tyranny:

The public has already been circumstantially instructed by such edifying books as “Cometh up as a Flower,” and others of a like turn, in what manner and in what terms married women can abdicate the dignity of their sex, and degrade themselves so far as to offer their whole life, and their whole selves, to some reluctant man, with too much remaining conscience or prudence to accept the sacrifice.

That sounded more interesting than HBS's moralizing, so once I finished her novelistic diatribe I picked this up. And it was a good call; I adore it; there were times I laughed aloud, times I gasped aloud; the whole story wrung my heart.

I love Nell's surprisingly modern wry sense of humor, her heart completely on her sleeve, how convincingly Broughton has captured all the intensity of late adolescence. Nell's spirited, awkward, unconventional, emotive personality felt delightfully familiar - I could imagine her as a friend; I connected with her as someone who would respond similarly.

I almost fear to pick up anything else by Broughton; it's hard to imagine I could enjoy another like work this much, and I would hate to take the shine from it by surfeiting myself with her writing. I may just let this one sit for a while, digesting - it really got me in the heart, and I can understand why it made a splash, and it surprises me that it's so little known now.

CW: There are anti-Semitic remarks in at least three places that I noted.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

volume 1:

volume 2:

(seriously though, I can't believe how quickly this read and how utterly modern the romantic tension felt. amazing of her to have written a happy ending for the lovebirds!)

[Stephanie Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utter madness isn't it *heavy sarcasm*, but for a book published in 1872, this quotation is pretty wild. I've read a lot of 19th century novels over the past few years, and quite a number of the heroines are somewhat lacking in a number of things: independence, a brain, passion and their own opinions to name but a few. Nell in Rhoda Broughton's Cometh Up as a Flower, however is something else - she actually defies feminine stereotypes and scorns the company of other women.


Nell lives alone with her father as her mother died when she was young. Despite their family name being one of high rapport, the Lestranges have gone way down the social ladder in recent years, to an extent that bills are unpaid and Nell's father's health is rapidly declining under economic stress. Nell meets a poor man called McGregor: handsome and flirtatious, he conducts an illicit relationship with her, which is kept a secret from her father. But, when her elder sister Dorothea returns to the family home, things begin to go a bit awry. Is love really worth more than money?


Although this book was written over a century ago, its language is not difficult or burdensome (makes a change for a 19th century novel, right?!). Nell's character is incredibly complex - she has a whole number of ideas concerning the social status of women in England, and has a number of factors which govern her every thought. Her sister Dorothea similarly offers a unique and often perplexing character: driven largely by money, she corrupts everything that is good in the novel and comes across as a true villain. This text really explores what your priorities ought to be when deciding who to marry. It also exposes some harrowing truths about the 'choice' even seemingly independent girls like Nell have concerning marriage. All in all, if you're interested in a look at how advanced first wave feminism could be in literature, this is a great text to go to!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of sensation novels lately and "Cometh up as a Flower" doesn't not really fit the pattern. There isn't really any crime or crazy plot twist, instead there are some lies and machinations by the protagonists sister. Overall, this seems more of a romance novel but at the time of writing Nell's rather direct narration and sexuality would probably have scandalized its readers.

[Tabitha Vohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this novel is a lot like reading Shakespeare: all the makings of an excellent plot; all the trappings of Old World censorship.

The protagonist meets the love of her life in a graveyard, and what follows is a lovely, tense discord on obligation, betrayal, lust, and lies.

If I could cut out all the fluff and just read the juicy parts, this would rival any NA romance out there.

[Isabella V Clark ⚡️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful reading into a nineteen year olds life who is in the midst of the marriage market and struggling with her identity. Really recommend this.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good character voice, very depressing story, with poor, sensitive Nell losing all her agency in her own life because of her sister, who never gets any comeuppance.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

"When next the sun comes peeping in through my little dim-paned window, he will find no Nelly Lestrange to greet him. He will miss the girl whom he has watched grow up from a little toddling pinafored child, to a fair, tall, comely woman— will miss the happy, foolish innocent face that has smiled back to him across the hay-field on so many dewy June mornings. Nelly Lestrange, with her light heart, her tumbledown Spanish castles, and her silly little tender jokes, has gone away, not from that room only, but from the world."

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, I welcomed the very conversational and confiding tone; it is markedly different from much of the 18th and 19th century literature I have been reading lately. The text reads like something surprisingly modern; however, the modern texts that it ended up reminding me of were of a sort similar to Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey. No sex scenes or vampires, but a lot of fantasizing and infantile frustration mixed in with a heavy-handed dash of "But what does life MEAN?" and "Agh, I'm so ugly (but really she's not) and live such a hard life (but really, it's not)" and "Let me tell YOU, wise reader, what a long, hard life I've had (she's 22)" A friend described the tone as "written by a teenager," and I think I would agree with that for the most part; a few descriptions and scenes read as genuine and sincere, but for the most part it reads like a Harlequin without the sex or a happy ending.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pleasant find in my trawls through obscure Victorian fiction. I really loved the first person narrative and the writing style which had me chucking to myself in places. Then why only 3 stars? Because I was a bit unsure about the mix of comedy and tragedy. Led astray by the lightness of touch and the witty observations of our heroine, even in the midst of her suffering, I felt sure that everything would come good for her in the end. I felt a little cheated by the downer at the end. However I am going to explore more works by this author, who was once one of the most popular of her day, but now almost forgotten.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never has a character felt more alive to the reader as much as Nell Lestrange. She is a vibrant character whose words leap off the page with emotion and conviction. Although the prose is somewhat clunky and there are a lot of lengthy passages on religion and life that do not deal directly with the plot, this book is a true gem of New Woman fiction and well worth reading.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly haunting book. I first found it at a book sale, and not yet reading it, sent it to a friend as a gift since it was such a pretty book. She was thoroughly enchanted with it and sent it back for me to read. I loved it!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cometh up as a Flower was a captivating, immensely sad book. At times the asides could get a bit boring and the ending was quite predictable but overall I enjoyed the book. I will be reading Broughton's "Second Thoughts" next.

[Susan Hanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhoda Broughton is a bright new discovery to me. I loved this book, including the long asides on life and love.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this for my English class about women writers in the Victorian era. I enjoyed it. I was not familiar with Broughton beforehand and was happy to be introduced to her.