The Rosewood Box

by Mary Burchell

Lavinia and Derek Manton had had a happy though childless marriage for a number of years, and they were still comparatively young when, without any warning, Derek died. Without warning - and without preparation - as Lavinia discovered when after a few days she had pulled herself together and begun to go through her husband's belongings. For in a rosewood box she discovered a secret that Derek had known about for many years but had kept even from his wife; Sheila Martineau, Sheila's mother, and two men who were both interested in Sheila. And it was to change Lavinia's life and that of several other people as well.

Genres: Romance

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1970

About the author

Ida Cook was born on 1904 at 37 Croft Avenue, Sunderland, England. With her eldest sister Mary Louise Cook (1901), she attending the Duchess' School in Alnwick. Later the sisters took civil service jobs in London, and developed a passionate interest in opera. The sisters helped 29 jews to escape from the Nazis, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.

As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've gotten out of the habit of reading genre romances, but I've read quite a few in my life. Mary Burchell (Ida Cook) is my favorite romance author. According to Wikipedia, "Ida Cook and her sister Mary Louise Cook rescued Jews from the Nazis during the 1930s. The sisters helped 29 people escape, funded mainly by Ida's writing." Knowing this makes me enjoy her writing even more! (She also smuggled valuable items out of Germany for Jews, risking her own safety.)

Many of her books have unusual main characters and plots, and more character development than in most short vintage romance novels.

This very short book is an excellent example of that. The main character is Lavinia, a middle aged woman whose husband has just died. She discovers that he had a child from a previous relationship that he never told her about. This, not surprisingly, comes as a huge shock. Inside a rosewood box she finds photos and school reports about the young woman, Sheila, now in her 20s, and she then manages to bump in to Sheila at her department store job.

The "romance" in this romance novel is Sheila's, not Lavinia's. Sheila is engaged to a man who is after her money, instead of that nice young man she's known since childhood. Despite the complete weirdness of this story, I still got pulled in. Mary Burchell really was a fine writer. The story is very slow moving, but the author captures the various emotions Lavinia is having.

Not a keeper, but I'm glad I read it.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

An obscure Mary Burchell, and one that contains little romance; rather, the heroine finds out after her husband's sudden death that he fathered a child before they met, and kept it from her to spare her pain. Resolutely, Lavinia befriends the girl, first out of duty and then out of genuine friendship, and becomes a close friend when the girl's birth mother dies. She is then able to help the girl avoid entanglement with the wrong man.