Title: The Midnight Rose
Author: Lucinda Riley
ISBN: 9781476703572
No. of Pages: 496
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Origins: Atria Books
Release Date: 18 March 2014
Bottom Line: The story itself is very interesting; the telling of the story has some major issues
Synopsis:
“In the heyday of the British Raj, eleven-year-old Anahita, from a noble but impoverished family, forms a lifelong friendship with the headstrong Princess Indira, the privileged daughter of Indian royalty. As the princess’s official companion, Anahita accompanies her friend to England just before the outbreak of WorldWar I. There, she meets young Donald Astbury—reluctant heir to the magnificent, remote Astbury Estate—and his scheming mother.
Ninety years later, Rebecca Bradley, a young American film star, has the world at her feet. But when her turbulent relationship with her equally famous boyfriend takes an unexpected turn, she’s relieved that her latest role, playing a 1920s debutante, will take her away from the glare of publicity to a distant corner of the English countryside. Shortly after filming begins at the now-crumbling Astbury Hall, Ari Malik, Anahita’s great-grandson, arrives unexpectedly, on a quest for his family’s past. What he and Rebecca discover begins to unravel the dark secrets that haunt the Astbury dynasty . . .
A multilayered, heartbreaking tale filled with unforgettable characters caught in the sweep of history, The Midnight Rose is Lucinda Riley at her most captivating and unforgettable.”
Thoughts: Ms. Riley struggles with the traditional narrative, especially dialog. Thankfully, she excels with the expository format and chooses to tell a large portion of the story through that format. Those parts that are from a letter or diary entries are extremely well-written, well-plotted, and effective. The rest is less than desirable and more an enticement to start skimming rather than struggle through the overly simplistic dialog and heavy reliance on melodrama. Her dialog in particular is short and very formal. There is no natural flow to a conversation but rather a wooden interchange between two or more characters that is painful to watch unfold.
Similarly, Ms. Riley’s male characters are particularly poorly developed. They are all caricatures and can too easily be lumped into three distinct categories – pleasant, odd, and older; young and lecherous playboys; and the knights in shining armor. It does not make them interesting characters in the least. Even worse, their voices ring false. They are all so sensitive, and there is a feminine quality to their words that is difficult to describe but there nonetheless. Compared to Anahita or even Maud, the men are weak and unworthy.
The saving grace of the entire novel is Anahita’s story itself. The mystery surrounding her first love and her son’s fate are intriguing, and one has no idea how this particular plot will end. Anni herself is a remarkable character – a wee bit too selfless and good but amazing for the grace with which she faces the many indignities she experiences. Strong, secure in her self-image, intelligent, and independent, she is the type of character that makes a reader feel good about life. Her story is interesting for its exoticness as well as for the extreme highs and lows she experiences. The fact that her story unfolds through letters is an advantage given how much more careful Ms. Riley is with this format.
The modern-day elements of The Midnight Rose are not nearly as compelling as Anni’s story. They also suffer from predictability. Rebecca is a very weak character compared to Anni, and there is nothing surprising about her growth into a more independent and self-confident woman. It is the same with Rebecca’s love interest. How that subplot unfolds is also unsurprising. It is as if Ms. Riley spent so much time developing Anni’s story that the rest of it was a mere afterthought that she quickly cobbled together to surround the main plot.
The Midnight Rose is proof that a story can be very interesting but poorly written. Anni’s story will capture a reader’s attention in spite of the weaknesses of the narrative elements. This is a good thing because there are weaknesses aplenty, including a proclivity for unnatural dialog and flat characters. The Midnight Rose is the type of novel a reader should just enjoy for the story without worrying about anything else. If one does that, it becomes a fascinating glimpse into the royal palaces of India as well as the estate system of the United Kingdom and the pressures contained within each.
