Book Recommendation: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Posted On March 13, 2022

Hi Readers! How are you doing? How was your March so far? I am having a good month, be it personally or professionally or blogging wise. I have only read one book so far this month & I am not hopeful for more than 3 this month. Most importantly, I am not pressuring myself to finish books or to read daily. If I can’t, I can’t. I am reading 4 books at the moment, but at times I don’t feel like continuing with either of those. Because of this my pace is super slow this month. My reviewing speed is also super slow this month. You guys have no idea how long it took me to finally write this review. I am not entirely happy with it, but my brain has given up, so I hope you like it either way!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of East-End London poverty, works the legendary code-breaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter—the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger—and their true enemy—closer…

~~CHARACTERS~~

We have three amazing, brilliant, strong women in The Rose Code; Osla Kendall, Mab Churt & Beth Finch. Osla Kendall is from a rich family with a lot of connections, but people call her a ‘debutante’ back in the day. But, throughout the book she proves how she is so much more than a dumb deb. Though she isn’t given major brain work like others at Bletchley Park, she uses her German language fluency to do whatever she can & rises on the ladder because of her brilliance & never backing down attitude.

Mab Churt is our second lady. Born into poverty, her goal was to climb the social ladder by marrying a respectable, well-educated & rich gentleman. Having limited resources, she still gets educated, completes a secretarial course & lands a job at BP. ‘Queen Mab’ wins the readers with her fierce face, tall demeanour & sharp wit. I love so much about her character, because the way she is portrayed in the 1940s, is just so commendable to imagine.

Lastly, we have Beth Finch, who is my personal favourite! From being mousy, spineless & a simpleton, she becomes absolutely brilliant which soon leads to her being a rebel & then finally into an emotionless robot. But, she finds her way back after years of hardship. Beth’s character arc is the best among all the three leading ladies. From being under the control of her mother to telling her off, from being charmed by Osla & Mab’s lifestyle to being a part of it & from solving crossword puzzles to cracking impossible codes & saving so many lives, she just became my favourite.

Given that it’s a 600+ page book, there are several characters in it, so I won’t mention any others. But, at the end of the book, Kate Quinn has mentioned how these characters are based on real life people who worked at Bletchley Park. Osla Kendall’s character was lightly based on Osla Benning, Beth’s character was based on two people & Mab was fictional, though she represented so many women who worked at BP at the time. And guess what? Kate Middleton’s grandmother Valerie Middleton (earlier Glassborow) also worked at Bletchley Park! How fascinating!

~~CHARACTER-DRIVEN NOVEL~~

The Rose Code is more character-driven than plot-driven. Since it is set during the second world war, the plot is already loosely based on real events. I suppose this is why, this book goes into the depths of its main characters, telling us everything from their childhood. I loved how Osla, Mab & Beth are all so distinct from one another. With their different eccentricities they strike a friendship which evolves throughout the book, giving us major vibes into the tastes of friendship, love, family, lost love, tragedies, betrayals & finally the basic human nature of helping those who need it.

~~LOVE LIVES~~

For a WWII historical fiction novel, this one had a lot of romance in it. Because there are three main characters, there are also three love lives to explore. We have the romance between Osla & Prince Philip. Then there’s the stable yet blossoming relationship between Mab & Francis Gray. And lastly, a scandalous affair between Beth & Harry who is a married man. I though a lot of their love lives could have been altered to add more about code breaking or war-related content.

Having said that, I fell head over heels for Francis Gray! They way he is written, you cannot help but love him. An emotionally wounded man who talks less, listens more & writes long love letters? Yes, more of that please! Even though Mab & Francis started going out & even got married, their love felt like something of a convenience. But, the way it bloomed during their marriage was like reading poetry. It was also fascinating to read about Osla & Philip. And when, future Queen Elizabeth joined the narrative, it felt surreal. The ‘what-could-have-been’ between Osla & Philip just makes me sad at times. And lastly, Beth & Harry’s romantic angle was my least favourite. Being an extramarital affair, it should have added more fire, but I never felt that chemistry between them.

So, even though the love lives of the women of Bletchley Park were interesting, it was a tad too much.

~~HISTORICAL FICTION + MYSTERY~~

Whenever I pick up a wartime historical fiction, I learn something new. Always. Some times it’s about female spies (The Nightingale) or some times about people in the concentration camps (The Tattooist of Auschwitz) or some times about undercover female spies working for collaborators (The Alice Network) In that sense, I truly learned something new in The Rose Code. After reading this book, I read a lot of content online about Bletchley Park. The work they did there was so important that it shortened the war by at least 2 years, thereby saving so many lives. The significance of breaking the code from the Enigma machines, Spy Enigma, Abwehr, bombe machines & so on was such hard work. Yet, the brilliant women of Britain accomplished so much success in it. But, this kind of a set up did take away the ‘edge-of-the-seat’ imminent danger from the narrative. That is what I missed in this novel.

Secondly, this book also has so many mysteries. Uncovering stories of betrayal among friends, the existence of a traitor at BP & just so much drama. I loved the added element of mysteries. Also, there are a lot of plot twists. Not only towards the end, but throughout the book, there will be one shocking revelation after the other.

Even though I never truly felt like there was a special bond between Osla, Mab & Beth, I was curious to know what finally broke them apart. I was also curious to know who the traitor was. And talking of curiosity, I was also a bit interested in knowing who ends up with whom. So, yes, I loved this mix of historical fiction & mystery & drama.

~~IMACULATE RESEARCH~~

What I love about Kate Quinn’s novels is how much research she puts into them & then after all of that, places her characters inspired from multiple real people into the story while at the same time keeping it interesting throughout! When I read the Author’s Note at the end of the book, I realised how well-researched this book was.

There is only one area I felt should have been explored more. I felt that a lot of the people (mostly women) who worked at BP broke down codes for so long that they themselves had a breakdown. I know mental health wasn’t at the forefront in those times, but given that this book is written in this era, some more light on this factor would have been insightful.

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

I think this book was unlike any other WWII Historical Fiction novels I have ever read. If you love reading this genre, you should read The Rose Code. If you get invested in your characters & don’t mind some side-romance in the story, then you should read this book. If you do not have the patience to read a 600+ page book, where the first reveal happens more than half the pages in, then you should not read this book. Also, you should not read this book if you are triggered by death, war, sexual assault, physical abuse & racism. These are the trigger warnings before you read The Rose Code. I have rated The Rose Code by Kate Quinn at 4/5 stars!

Until next time,