''Rose'' is a novel by

Martin Cruz Smith Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist. He is best known for his nine-novel series (to date) on Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was first introduced in 1981 with '' Gorky Park''. Early life and educ ...

published in 1996. The story is set in 1872

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

, Lancashire, England, a district with extensive coal mines.

Synopsis

Jonathan Blair, a mining engineer, returns from Africa's Gold Coast and, on finding his native England utterly depressing, falls into melancholy and alcoholism. Blair wishes desperately to return to Africa, so, in exchange, he agrees to investigate the disappearance of a local curate engaged to marry the daughter of Blair's patron. With the unexpected assistance of Rose, a Wigan ' pit brow girl', Blair solves the mystery and, in the process, finds himself as well.

Analysis

As a human being as well as an (ad hoc) investigator, Jonathan Blair does bear more than a passing resemblance to the Russian Chief Investigator found in the sprawling series of seven "Arkady Renko" novels also penned by Martin Cruz Smith. He stubbornly avoids taking the easy way out and repeatedly risks life and limb in the process.

Translations

The book has been translated into Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Polish, Russian, and Hebrew.http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/79753310?referer=br&ht=edition
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Reviews

*"Rose, a richly textured Victorian thriller from Martin Cruz Smith" by Martin Cruz Smith in Time. 147, no. 23, (1996): 73, *Review by E. Weber, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, 101, no. 24, (1996): 50 *Review by David Horspool in TLS, the Times literary supplement. no. 4861, (1996): 22

References

External links

Working in a coal mine - The bestselling author of ''Gorky Park'' finds literary gold in a notorious English mining town
interview from

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

Novels by Martin Cruz Smith 1996 American novels Native American novels Random House books Novels set in Lancashire Wigan Novels set in England {{1990s-novel-stub