Bloomsbury's Late Rose by Pen Pearson

 Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) was an English poet. Author’s note: “I believe Mew’s poetry remains underappreciated today. I hope this novel helps pay a much-deserved tribute to Mew.”

London, 1894: Two sisters, Anne and Charlotte Mew, both in their early twenties make a pact to never marry in order to avoid possibility of passing insanity to their children, which runs in their family. They will have each other, Anne her paintings and Charlotte her writing.

Both sisters live with their mother in a house where they have tenants to help their dire financial situation.

Their Aunt Mary Kendall, who passed away a few months earlier, leaves Charlotte and Anne two investment properties in Brighton.

Anne rents a studio in hope of furthering her career, which later leads her only to a menial job.

Mrs. Dawson Scott, hostess of the salon, encourages “Charlotte to read her poems to a small gathering of women at her home in Southall.”

Through Mrs. Scott, Charlotte meets May Sinclair, a writer and an active suffragist. And thanks to May’s help, Charlotte’s poem gets published.

A few years later, Charlotte joins The Poetry Bookshop. The owner of the shop offers to publish a book of Charlotte’s poems.

Charlotte’s hopes of fame come in short waves, but she also has another big hope, which she keeps in secret.

The author skillfully paints a portrait of a poetess who craves for fame and it keeps eluding her, and her raw reflections of life’s ups and downs. When she is considered an older spinster with graying hair, she comes to a realization that maybe fame was the wrong thing to focus on; there are some other more important things in life. 

The intricate characters are involved in lively discussions, for example, suffragette movement. The time period is skillfully presented through many layers of history, for example fashion and WWI effects on civilians. 

The chapters are short and as the story begins, the first few chapters jump from one scene to another, not making much cohesion. But the original descriptions and artful language, sometimes sharp and funny, carries a reader through to an engaging story with pages turning fast, making it a quick read. I devoured this book over the weekend.

The eloquent writing and original descriptions reveal a very talented writer.

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Release date: September 1st, 2019