Her Secret Rose: A Literary Historical Novel

by Orna Ross

A brooding Irish poet. A beautiful English rebel.

A love affair that shaped history.

Willie Yeats is 23 years old in 1889, when dazzling Maud Gonne decides to recruit him in her newly adopted cause of Irish freedom—and “the troubling of his life” begins.

He spreads his dreams under her feet as they set about creating a new Ireland through poetry, politics and their shared interest in the occult. But this love affair is much more than poetic image would have you believe.

As its down-to-earth narrator Rosy Cross says: "When looked at from the woman’s side of the bedsheet, most tales take a turning, and this one more than most." While Yeats forges a poetic career out of their relationship, Gonne, his apparently unattainable muse, has other goals. And a secret she fears to share, even with him.

Can their relationship survive the turmoil—or will enchantment and intrigue tear them apart?

Packed with emotional twists and surprises, Her Secret Rose brings to life 1890s Dublin, London and Paris while exposing untold truths about one of history’s most charismatic love affairs. If you like Hamnet or Shadowplay then you’ll love this haunting and moving story.

Genres: Historical Fiction

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2016

About the author

Orna Ross is an award-winning historical novelist, poet, and founder-director of the global non-profit for self-publishing writers, the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

An international bestseller, she enjoys book sales in 120+ countries worldwide and her awards include the Goethe Historical Fiction Grand Prize Award for fiction, Gold Literary Titan award for poetry, the Romantic Novelists Association's Indie Champion Award, The Writers' Digest's Top Websites for Writers, and The Bookseller's Top 100 people in publishing.

In what she describes as “the best move of my writing life”, Orna took her book rights back from her publishers in 2011. The experience has made her a passionate advocate for the commercial and creative empowerment of authors through self-publishing and selective rights licensing.

Reviews

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big thank you to Orna Ross, Font Publications, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a debut novel the first in a trilogy, which always grabs my attention. It's a fictionalized biography of the great poet, W.B.Yeats and the turmoil of 1890s Ireland.
Yeats met Maud Gonne on January 30, 1889, in London and nothing was the same for him. Yeats is one of the last great Romantic poets; Gonne, one of the earliest Irish political activists. It was love at first sight for Yeats, perhaps for Gonne, but she was so absorbed in the Irish question and her French aristocrat that she couldn't see anything else. For years.
I'm struck by the amount of loss and despondency in the plot. Not much gets done for all the goodwill expressed. The Yeats poems interlaced with the chapters are a pleasant touch, but really don't lighten things up.
I'm not interested in continuing this trilogy. My attention was not piqued.

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in a trilogy, The Yeats-Gonne Trilogy Book 1. It's a fictionalized biography of the great poet, Willie .B.Yeats and the turmoil of 1890's Ireland. This book follows the first ten years of the relationship between the Irish poet, Willie B. Yeats and his muse, Maud Gonne: revolutionary, feminist and political activist. I look forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.

Pub Date 30 Aug 2016
Thank you to NetGalley and Font Publications for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Liza Perrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book one in a trilogy, Her Secret Rose is a fictionalised biography that follows the first ten years of the relationship between the Irish poet, WB Yeats and his muse, Maud Gonne: revolutionary, feminist and political activist.

Narrated from the point of view of domestic servant, Rosie the author takes us on a fascinating journey behind these public personas into the private, real world of their human strengths and flaws.

In 1889, Yeats is 23 when he meets the beautiful rebel Maud. Through his poetry and her politics, and their shared fascination for the occult, they then embark on a voyage to try and free Ireland from its British chains.

Amidst rebellion, politics, intrigue, and Gonne and Yeats’ passion for Ireland, the author deftly brings to life Dublin, London and Paris of the 1890s as the two flit between the cities. Parts of Yeats’ poems are also woven through the narrative which for me enhanced the ambiance of this magnificently-crafted and well-researched novel.

Before reading Her Secret Rose, all I knew of WB Yeats’ poetry was what I’d learned many years ago at school, and I found this fictionalised biography an excellent and entertaining way to learn more about the poet, both his work and as a person. I also knew next to nothing about Maud Gonne and was intrigued to learn how extraordinary she was, and about the hold she had over Yeats. Through letters, journals and family communication, the author has uncovered quite a different story from the one I learned in school and, after reading this illuminating and entertaining tale, I’m now looking forward to the next in this trilogy.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have loved this book. Based on real people and events, very thoroughly researched and presented, there were moments of greatness. Not enough to hold my interest, I"m afraid. To start with, I hated the structure of the book. The story was told in an almost poetic prose, jumping from subject to subject, starting a new character while I was still waiting to find out about the old one. I wanted to KNOW Maude. And I almost did. But every time the story got interesting, every time I got a peek in to the character...we were on to a different part of the story. I almost got swept away several times. Almost. I kept making deals with myself..a few more pages, try another chapter. I hate to admit it but I finally had to give up.

This book was so factual it was almost a text book to me. Maybe I'm not "highbrow" enough to appreciate it, I wasn't a poetry or political major in school. All I can say is I didn't enjoy this book enough to finish reading it, and that, for me, says a lot.

[Mala Naidoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that should be read slowly and digested to enjoy the seamless narration that gently draws the reader into the world of Maude Gonne and WB. The lyricism of the craft added to the enjoyable intimacy of WB’s fictionalized biography. The reader leaves with the satisfaction of having walked alongside the lives of two unforgettable, intriguing icons. I will certainly re-read this special tribute to WB—‘That it declare itself a book to be read, and placed upon one’s shelves, and read again.’

[ProofProfessor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is again a well-written account by Orna Ross, with great command of, and passion for, the period. However, it again, very sadly, is riddled with errors of spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation and formatting. There are 127 such errors in total. Here is a brief list with some examples:

Mixed tenses in the same phrase: 'the child is screaming and started to bawl' (p247)
Incorrect use of homonyms: 'he prizes hers apart' (p148)
Proper names, particularly Irish and French ones (and also German), are misspelled: 'Perigueux' (p66); 'Facarragh' (p76); 'des Victories' (p86). French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam becomes an 'Adman' (p155). The Irish mistakes are all the more worrying as the author is Irish.
Incorrect plural: 'the Yeats's abode' (p18)
Formatting errors, leading to gobbledegook: ('now,&rdquot;' p247)
Questions end without question marks (p196)
Misuse of the apostrophe (p30)
Singular/plural mismatch (p77)
Incorrect past participles (p127)
Dialogue ends without closing speech marks (p133)
Word(s) are omitted, leading to no sense (p156)
Inability to use the hyphen correctly
US and GB spelling are mixed indiscriminately

Incredibly, on page 304 - and one has to assume that these are the errors of "Font Publications" (the publisher) and/or the author - the proofreader's surname is misspelled ('Baggot' should be 'Baggott'), AND the editors' surname is misspelled ('Rogers' should be 'Rodgers')! This double whammy is something which in most books is extremely hard to achieve, and really quite inexcusable.

Worst of all, despite the author's clear devotion to her protagonists, the great W B Yeats's work is regularly misquoted. In the author's reprinting of the poem "He Tells of A Valley Full of Lovers" [sic] (p244) the phrase 'drown their eyes with your hair' is rendered as '...fair'. In "The White Birds" (p111), 9 transcription errors are made in just 12 lines, with Yeats's 'it can fade and flee' turning into 'it can pass by and flee', and 'a sadness that may not die' becoming 'a sadness that never may die'. These mis-transcriptions occur through the book. (Work consulted: "The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Volume I: The Poems: Revised Second Edition".)

Letters suffer the same fate. For example, in an 1897 letter from Gonne to Yeats, reproduced on pp255-256, the author creates her own version, in the process making 39 errors of transcription, including removing or adding words, and even changing a name. (Work consulted: "The Gonne-Yeats Letters, 1893-1938".) Not honouring and correctly representing a Nobel Laureate's published work is clearly not a good ground rule for writers seeking historical verisimilitude.

Orna Ross is founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), one of whose requirements in its Code of Standards is for members to "fully engage with the editorial process".

[Kate Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her Secret Rose is the first in a trilogy based on the lives of the poet WB Yeats and actor-turned-political campaigner Maud Gonne.

From their first meeting they are united by their passionate commitment to Irish nationalism, but there is much that divides them. Gonne is independently wealthy, worldly and confident. She has the resources – bolstered by an unconventional upbringing – to break through many of the constraints facing women at the time.

Yeats, by contrast, is naïve and sexually inexperienced, living at home in genteel poverty and struggling to make a name for himself. He becomes infatuated with Gonne and she looms large in his thoughts and fantasies even though they rarely see each other. She, in turn, seems to need his friendship, though it is never entirely clear, perhaps even to Gonne herself, whether she feels a profound connection to him or whether he is just another plate she has to keep spinning.

The story is narrated by Rosie Cross, a woman who reveals little of herself in this first volume, except to say that she was also involved in nationalist movement and was a servant at that time. This frame works well – Rosie is close enough to know their thoughts and feelings but also has a nice ironic distance. She is clearly not blind to the faults of her subjects.

Yeats, like his artist father, is concerned that his art should not be tainted by banal concerns such as earning a living. The burden of supporting the household therefore falls on his long-suffering sisters.

Gonne is portrayed as a more complex and enigmatic character. For all her strength and charm, she is embroiled in an abusive relationship with a married man in France who is happy to use her to further his own political agenda.

Gonne elects to keep her private life a secret. She is constantly aware of her public persona and its importance to her political activity. She tells Yeats – and presumably the world at large – that her children are orphans she has adopted. His lack of knowledge of her real life allows him to mythologise her further.

Their vision for Ireland draws on Celtic myth and mysticism which can put them at odds with other nationalists (Gonne is conflicted about whether to share a platform with a socialist, and at times people criticise her interventions in the evictions of tenant farmers as more theatrical than constructive).

The story is interwoven with extracts from original documents and Yeats’ poetry. It portrays two fascinating but not necessarily attractive characters, and gives an insight into an important period in Irish history.
*
I received a copy of Her Secret Rose from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog https://katevane.com/blog/

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As long as I can remember, I have been a fan of the poetry of William Butler Yeats. So when I was presented, through Netgalley, with Orna Ross's book "Her Secret Rose," I jumped at the chance to delve a bit into the early part of his life and his complicated relationship with his muse, Maud Gonne.

The book is easy to read, absorbing, and very well researched. Inspired by the historical resources of private letters, journals, communications and published works, Orna Ross in effect writes of a love affair that never truly was, but which sparked passion and creativity. At first I was put off by how the story was being told, narrated from the point of view of domestic servant, Rosie. Through her eyes, we are lead on a fascinating journey behind these public personas into the private, real world of their human strengths and flaws. Maud is not a typical woman of her era. She is tall, outspoken, and political. She is a femme fatale and a passionate feminist. Her passion inspires Yeats to write some of his most beautiful words.

"Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light;
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the first part of a trilogy documenting the life of the poet Yeats and his unattainable muse Maud told in the voice of Rosie a domestic maid. Prior to reading this book I had a limited knowledge of Yeats and no knowledge of Maud and her part in the political struggle in Ireland. This is a beautifully written book interspersed with Yeats poems, which makes it an engaging and educational read. I really enjoyed it and looking forward to picking up the sequels.

[Bookmuseuk]

Book one in a trilogy, Her Secret Rose is a fictionalised biography that follows the first ten years of the relationship between the Irish poet, WB Yeats and his muse, Maud Gonne: revolutionary, feminist and political activist.

Narrated from the point of view of domestic servant, Rosie the author takes us on a fascinating journey behind these public personas into the private, real world of their human strengths and flaws.

In 1889, Yeats is 23 when he meets the beautiful rebel Maud. Through his poetry and her politics, and their shared fascination for the occult, they then embark on a voyage to try and free Ireland from its British chains.

Amidst rebellion, politics, intrigue, and Gonne and Yeats’ passion for Ireland, the author deftly brings to life Dublin, London and Paris of the 1890s as the two flit between the cities. Parts of Yeats’ poems are also woven through the narrative which for me enhanced the ambience of this magnificently-crafted and well-researched novel.

Before reading Her Secret Rose, all I knew of WB Yeats’ poetry was what I’d learned many years ago at school, and I found this fictionalised biography an excellent and entertaining way to learn more about the poet, both his work and as a person. I also knew next to nothing about Maud Gonne and was intrigued to learn how extraordinary she was, and about the hold she had over Yeats. Through letters, journals and family communication, the author has uncovered quite a different story from the one I learned in school and, after reading this illuminating and entertaining tale, I’m now looking forward to the next in this trilogy.

[Elizabeth Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a keen student of Irish Literature, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this novel, which describes the early stages of the doomed love affair between the great Irish poet& playwright, W.B.Yeats, and the high born lady turned aspiring revolutionary, Maud Gonne. Having studied Yeats work, I was, of course, familiar with the story, and with the allusions to such things as Yeats' interest in the esoteric philosophies and spiritualist activities of Madame Blavatsky and The Golden Dawn movement. In her exploration of the biographical elements and intellectual influences on the poet and his Muse in the course of the novel, Orna Ross has made a very good job of introducing what can be, at times, quite complex ideas in a clear and accessible way. While the dedicated Yeats scholar might feel that this is treated in a rather superficial manner, I believe that, for the average reader, Ross has fulfilled the brief effectively. The pacing and plotting of the novel are both well handled, so the reader's interest is sustained throughout, We also learn a good deal about Yeats' and, to a lesser extent, Gonne's psychology and personal motivations which do, in my opinion, add to the poetry lover's understanding and appreciation of the poet's deservedly celebrated writing and Maud Gonne's political activities. This is the first in a Trilogy, and I look forward very much to reading the volumes to follow..

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this fictionalised biography of Yeats and Maud Gonne both compelling and intriguing. It’s the first part of a trilogy and covers the first ten years of their complicated relationship. I look forward to reading the next two volumes. Although Yeats and Gonne are the focus of the narrative, the book ranges far and wide over Irish life and politics and the other key people in Yeats’ life, as well as those in Maud’s. I felt the balance between fiction and non-fiction worked well, although I have to take it on trust that the account is as historically accurate as it could be. Conversations and intimate details are unlikely to have been documented. But it certainly felt authentic, and I was confident that the author had done her research. I was puzzled somewhat by the narrator, who occasionally interjects into the story as though she were a confidante or eye-witness, but the conceit works well, and makes the book appear convincing. Some of Yeats’ poems are included, which is a nice touch. Ross is a gifted storyteller and the book is well-written and well-paced. All in all a very enjoyable, as well as illuminating, novel.

[booksofallkinds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book was released last year, somehow it had slipped past me. HER SECRET ROSE by Orna Ross gives us a fictionalised biography of the legendary relationship between Maud Gonne and W.B. Yeats. Having learned about these two larger than life characters throughout school, I was fascinated by the premise of this story. Told through the eyes of a domestic servant, Rosie Cross, we get to see past their public personas of political activist and poet. Throughout this book, I felt that I got to know them as people - their hopes, their fears, and their inadequacies and doubts. This is a tale about rebellion, politics, and intrigue, mixed throughout with their passion for Ireland and for literature. Snippets of Yeats' poetry is woven through the novel which really added to the mood and understanding of the book overall. HER SECRET ROSE by Orna Ross is a beautifully crafted story and I am so glad that I came across it. I look forward to the next instalment in the series titled A CHILD DANCING.

*Book received from Netgalley.com

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovers of the romantic poets will adore this book. Steeped in the history of the Irish Revolution and the ancient folklore of Ireland, this epic explores the life of a woman in the European demi-mode. Because it is not narrated by the heroine, one is left guessing at her thoughts and feelings; drawing conclusions based on Yeats' impressions of her when he's with her and an omnicient third person narrator when he is not. I wish that I had heard more of Maude's internal dialog to know how she felt. Instead, it sometimes seemed as if she were watching her life go by; instead of being the active participant we know, historically, that she was. She seems less sassy, less vibrant, less strong in this novel and that vulnerability plays so well into the snipets of Yeats that we see throughout. Loved it.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of a trilogy following the complicated relationship between Maud Gonne and WB Yeats, this covers the first ten years of their friendship to 1900. Ross makes fine use of Yeats' poetry and seems to follow what is known about both characters - but somehow they don't come to complete life. Maybe the very concern with following the historical record precludes the imagination that makes inner lives knowable? In any case, this is an interesting but somehow distanced and slightly mannered read. But if it sends people to Yeats' poetry and to finding out more about Gonne and her role in Irish nationalism then that's something to be applauded.

[Tom Costello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected . I don't know if I will read the other two volumes. I did learn some things though.