Rose

Rose Martin Cruz Smith’s Rose, is an encrypting novel about love, mystery, and culture. It enwraps all the classic qualities of the Industrial Revolution in England in a collective way. For example, in the novel, it describes the grime and disgust of most cities, as well as the rampant diseases throughout many households of England. The protagonist, Jonathan Blair, is a victim of the disease Typhoid and must overcome his troubles in order to solve an encumbering mystery. This mystery is his ticket to being free on the coast of Western Africa. His objective is to find out what really happened to a local curate who is missing and who also happens to be engaged to his friend Bishop Hannay’s daughter, Charlotte. This example of mystery binds together all of the other characteristics of the novel. For example, his love for Africa is the driving force behind digging deep and solving the mystery. Along the way however, he finds a new sense of meaning of love when he meets a local “pit-girl” named Rose. This counteraction enlightens Blair and brings him to finding out his true sense of purpose in this world. The culture aspect of the novel is discussed throughout many scenes. For example, in the beginning Smith describes the filth in major cities and the rampant spreading of diseases. He goes on to explain the transformation from small cottage shops to England becoming the first industrialized nation in the western hemisphere. These key three aspects are what capture and support Smith’s embodiment of England in the nineteenth century. As for the rest of the novel, it is concluded by Blair uncovering the disappearance of the local curate in which turned out to be a whole scheme created by Charlotte. Also, he finds love with Rose, and overcomes his past loves for alcohol and other unscrupulous things in order to define himself as a new person in the world. Martin Cruz Smith’s novel, Rose, is a perfect glimpse into all of the major aspects of the Industrial Revolution in