Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

This is the thread for June 2026 Buddy Read of Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart

I just picked this up from the library and starting it I realized this is new for me. I thought I'd read it, but apparently I was thinking of Thornyhold. I'm exactly in the mood for Mary Stewart to balance out all the slower books I'm reading right now. What fun!

That's so exciting Teri-K -- a new Mary Stewart discovery!

I should be able to start reading today too. It turns out I already had it on my e-reader. I've been waffling a bit in my reading this weekend, so I'm glad to turn to a Mary Stewart :)

So glad, Wobbley, that this works for you, too! It feels more mysterious, less adventurous so far.

Chapter 5 Quote Ahead:

"I remember, I remember
the house where I was born..."

This is the opening of a poem by Thomas Hood called "I Remember, I Remember" published in 1826. I had a very poetry-filled childhood and recognized it right away. It's rather a lament of the lost innocence of childhood. Foreshadowing for Kate? I have no idea - it could just be those first lines fit the mood Stewart wanted to convey here. We'll have to read on and see.

Of course I have suspicions about her father... If I'm right, what will it mean for everyone's future? I can't see that yet.

Chapter 7
At the end of this chapter Kate says, "I got myself some supper, then found the Penguin I had bought for the train journey and read for an hour or two..."

She's referring to the Penguin paperbacks, which have a really interesting history since their beginning in 1935. You can read about it on sites like Wikipedia. Or you can listen to an entertaining episode about it on the Shedunnit podcast here: https://www.shedunnitshow.com/thegree....

This post has spoilers through the end of chapter 4.

I'm enjoying it so far. I agree that this feels more like a mystery. I'm at the point where she's talked with her grandmother and is about to head back to England to get the hidden stuff at Rose Cottage. I confess, I'm enjoying the Scotland stuff right now, and sort of wish the story was going to happen there, haha.

I imagine there will be some mystery that comes out around the hidden box in Rose Cottage, and maybe Kathy will also figure out who her father is (two contenders so far: an unknown Gypsy and Sir James; and I suppose it's also possible that the "Jamie" Kathy's mother ended up marrying was the father and they were later reunited, though there has been no suggestion of this so far). I haven't decided yet whether there will also be a romance for Kathy, but it's Mary Stewart so I expect there will.

Also, funny story, I was curious about the curlew's call after the description in chapter 1 (liquid gold pours and bubbles through the sky), so I looked up an example on youtube. But I could only listen to it for a few seconds because it drove my cats completely bonkers!

Wobbley wrote: "Also, funny story, I was curious about the curlew's call after the description in chapter 1 (liquid gold pours and bubbles through the sky), so I looked up an example on youtube. But I could only listen to it for a few seconds because it drove my cats completely bonkers!.."

They weren't fans of the liquid gold, I guess. Or they wanted to catch it and eat it! My cat licked herself for a bit, then came over to take a look. The audio I listened to isn't that melodious, I'll have to try another.

I like Kate/Kathy so far, she seems sensible and steady. I suspect something will happen to shake her up a bit, though.

Teri-K wrote: "They weren't fans of the liquid gold, I guess. Or they wanted to catch it and eat it!"

Haha, yeah, I'm pretty sure they wanted to chase and eat it! Your cat seems a lot more chill than mine.

Wobbley wrote: "Haha, yeah, I'm pretty sure they wanted to chase and eat it! Your cat seems a lot more chill than mine..."

I believe she was trying to look dignified. Taking her time wandering over, like she wasn't really interested. But her ears were up and her tail was swishing the whole time.

I just saw that this buddy read was set up. I’m so glad! I’m on Chapter 21, so I can tell you that it is one I think you’ll enjoy! I’ll comment more on the story when I have more time later today. But I’m so glad to have “buddies” to read with 😀

Teri-K wrote: "So glad, Wobbley, that this works for you, too! It feels more mysterious, less adventurous so far.

Chapter 5 Quote Ahead:

"I remember, I remember
the house where I was born..."

This is the ope..."

I caught that about the Penguin and thought it was pretty interesting!

As you both know, I am pretty far ahead of you -- just starting Chapter 21! But I still have the same questions about Kathy's birth and her parents! Also, waiting to see if she gets into a romance (although I have my suspicions!). I'm just now getting to some things that may give me a few answers -- I'll try not to "spill the beans" when I find out! ;)
I don't want you to think that this story is too drawn out, though. It moves right along and introduces some fun characters, and becomes more mysterious as it goes along (thank you very much, Mary Stewart!). And the setting is so quaint and cozy, I love it!

I'm so glad that you are reading this one -- especially, Teri-K, since you discovered that this is one you hadn't read :)

Terris wrote: "As you both know, I am pretty far ahead of you -- just starting Chapter 21! But I still have the same questions about Kathy's birth and her parents! Also, waiting to see if she gets into a romance ..."

spoilers through chapter 7 (and possibly chapter 20, since I'm responding to Terris's post)

That's so interesting that you're still wondering about a romance after 20 chapters. To be honest, I completely thought I'd met the love interest when Davey appeared at the start of chapter 7 (which is where I am now). I guess I'll have to read on to see! ;)

spoilers through chapter 13

The plot thickens! Kathy has learned that Miss Mildred saw what was probably a person with a flashlight moving around in Rose Cottage the night before she arrived. And Miss Linsey has just told Kathy that she believes she saw her mother with a man in the cemetery 2 nights before she arrived, visiting her Aunt Betsy's grave.

News that Kathy would be arriving to pack up her grandmother's stuff preceded her by a few days, and I think its clear that her imminent arrival is what prompted the thief to break in and steal the contents of the safe. But what about the mystery woman in the cemetery?

Of course it's possible that Kathy's mother didn't die. They were informed of a death from afar, that's all. But here's an off-the-wall theory: maybe Aunt Betsy herself had an illegitimate child who looks a lot like Kathy's mother, and that's who Miss Linsey saw in the cemetery.

Time will tell.

spoilers through chapter 17

I'm stopping here for the night. I still think Davey is the love interest, though they certainly aren't pushing it very hard. He seemed possibly jealous of her teenage crush on a classmate.

And Prissy is coincidentally in town with her husband. She's described as beautiful and blond, and so is Kathy's mother; possibly Prissy and her husband were the people Miss Linsey saw in the cemetery. But why were they at Aunt Betsy's grave?

Okay, prepare yourself for wild theorizing. :)

Possibly, Aunt Betsy isn't actually the person who is buried in her plot, or else isn't the only person buried there. For instance, if Prissy had a baby out of wedlock, and there was a miscarriage, and Gran maybe offered to bury the baby in the same plot as Aunt Betsy to cover up any possible scandal and protect Prissy's reputation, then that could be a reason for Prissy to visit that grave. Of course, this theory doesn't stand up to much scrutiny -- for example, it doesn't explain the coincidental timing of their visit with Kathy's visit and the theft from the safe (it's hard to explain Prissy being the one who broke into the safe). But, I do think something will come of the fact that Aunt Betsy's gravestone doesn't yet have its inscription.

I'm still enjoying this book, and I'm enjoying tossing about unlikely theories. My one minor niggle so far is I feel the handling of the "what a pity that things have to change" theme is a bit clunky. And like Teri-K, I'm not sure this is on a level with my favourites from this author; it feels a bit more insubstantial, although it's still early and that might change. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the characters, as well as her descriptions, as usual (particularly of the area around the cottage, and the description of Todhall village on Kathy's first visit). I'm glad we're reading this. It's light and engaging, and a good fit for my reading mood at the moment.

Wobbley wrote: " I'm enjoying the characters, as well as her descriptions, as usual (particularly of the area around the cottage, and the description of Todhall village on Kathy's first visit). I'm glad we're reading this. It's light and engaging, and a good fit for my reading mood at the moment. ..."

I totally agree. It was a solid, fun book that kept me happily reading and gave me just what I wanted.

I love your speculations. Here were some of my thoughts as I read:
Is Kathy's mother really dead? Did she really run off with another man at all?
Why is Aunt Betsy so nasty? Does she have something in her past that caused it?
Is Kathy's father the dead husband from Todhall? (I forget his name) Or some other family member from there? For a minute I wondered about the dead son, but realized that couldn't work. lol
I also wondered if Prissy and her husband were the people in the cemetery - but why?
Was the digging by the shed because someone stole the box and buried it and then came back for it later?

Lots of questions!

I finished today and loved it!! And, you're right, it gave me just what I wanted :)

I love all your questions, Teri-K, however, I don't think this book went quite that deep! There could have been much more to the story entangled with many more characters and plot lines, but it seemed to stay with one pretty simple storyline (hope this isn't a spoiler!!). I liked it that way though. I do think it made you/the reader keep thinking all the time of the many possibilities and ways the plot could go (I even wondered at one time if Davey was possibly her brother??!! ha!)!

This was a good one for me -- one of my favorites!

I'm so glad you loved it so much Terris! It's so wonderful to run across a book like that. :)

spoilers through the end of the book

I finished it today too. It's a pretty quick read.

I liked it, and I'm glad we read it. I didn't love it in the way I've loved some of her books. In a way the ending was my least favourite part, because I didn't like the scene between Kathy and her mother when they reunited; for me it lacked a feeling of authenticity. Also, the solution to the mystery was a bit too simplistic: it's hard to believe that it's purely coincidental that Kathy and her mother returned to Rose Cottage in the same week after years/decades away.

Apart from that, I enjoyed this one. The romance was a bit underdone, but I prefer Mary Stewart's underdone romances to her overdone romances, and I did really like Davey. I also liked how level-headed Kathy was, and I liked Davey's mother, and generally how kind and decent the protagonists were to each other. Also, the figuring-out-where-home-is theme often resonates with me. This was very pleasant read.

I quite enjoyed this book, too. I'm so glad I had this push to actually read it, instead of assuming I already had. :)

That said, I agree it's not deep or particularly intricate. It's really the straightforward story of Kathy and a short, pivotal time in her life. I liked her a lot, and Davey, of course. But then I like reading about practical, steady people.

As usual the descriptions were lovely and I felt like I'd been on vacation when I finished it. I would have rated it higher if there had been more adventure or mystery, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable book, and sometimes that's all I need. I think fans of DE Stevenson might enjoy this one, too.