Maryrose Wood
Author of The Mysterious Howling
About the Author
Maryrose Wood was studying acting at New York University when she dropped out to be in the chorus of the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along, which flopped. She did eventually graduate from NYU's Gallatin School. She started out writing for the theater and film, as a lyricist, librettist, show more playwright and screenwriter. She was the first recipient of the Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award and a three-time recipient of the Richard Rodgers Award for New Musicals. Her first book, Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love, was published in 2006. She also writes the Morgan Rawlinson series, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, and The Poison Diaries trilogy. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Maryrose Wood
x-height : Vol. 2., No. 2 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 20th century
- Gender
- female
- Education
- New York University, Gallatin School
- Occupations
- actor
director
lyricist
librettist
playwright
screenwriter - Awards and honors
- Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist Award
Richard Rogers Award for New Musicals - Short biography
- Mary Rose Wood is the author of the continuing series about the Incorrigible children and their governess, which may be considered works of fiction, which is to say, the true bits and the untrue bits are so thoroughly mixed together that no one should be able to tell the difference. This process of fabrication is fully permitted under the terms of the author's Poetic License, which is one of her most prized possessions.
Maryrose's other qualifications for writing include a scandalous stint as a professional thespian, many years as a private governess to two curious and occasionally rambunctious pupils, and whatever literary insights she may have gleaned from living in close proximity to a clever but disobedient dog. [adapted from The Hidden Gallery (2010)] - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Long Island, New York, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
Continuing to delight. And also, honestly, a race with giant wolves and a governess on an ostrich -- what a priceless visual. Also, Madame Ionesco's salty "don't worry about it, honey"s and "see you later wolf-babies" are just riotously funny.
The audio book version of it is superb, with just the right mix of pragmatic governess voice and assorted delightful animal noises. Hilarious, over the top, and full of sound advice.
The audio book version of it is superb, with just the right mix of pragmatic governess voice and assorted delightful animal noises. Hilarious, over the top, and full of sound advice.
Note: This review is a bit spoilery regarding the first book of the trilogy. The review is NOT spoilery for the second book, except for the Discussion Section.
This is the second installment of a trilogy set in the 1700’s in England, of which only the first two volumes have yet been published. In the first, we learned that Jessamine Luxton, a beautiful young girl of 16, has learned healing arts from her father Thomas. She falls in love with a young man, Weed, who has come to live with them, show more but then she becomes mysteriously ill. At the end of the first volume, she has recovered, but at the price of her own soul, and that of Weed’s. Her father’s soul, she discovered, was already lost.
At the beginning of volume two, Jessamine leaves her home to find Weed, who has disappeared. As she travels to London though, she is not alone, but accompanied by a dark force unleashed by her father’s garden of poisonous plants. By the time Weed finds her, she is not the girl she used to be, and Weed must take his own journey to try and save her from the depths of self-destruction.
Discussion: This is one of the darkest YA books I’ve read in a long time. A hint of what is to come can be found in the heroine's name.
Jessamine was named for the vine with the botanical name Gelsemium sempervirens, sometimes referred to as yellow jasmin. One of the most notable attributes of the plant is the beautiful fragrant flower it produces, but all parts of the plant are extremely poisonous. This turns out to be the case with the character Jessamine as well. In spite of her outward beauty, she turns poisonous to all in her orbit.
The problem for me, however, is that the author has Jessamine become immoral because of the influence of the evil Oleander, Prince of Poisons, whose power has been released by her father’s poison garden. It is Oleander who drives both Jessamine and Weed to commit the evil acts they do. I just don’t know how I feel about the whole “the devil made me do it” take on their behavior. Sure, Oleander could be seen as a metaphor, except that he is not – he is depicted as an actual character. Furthermore, he is pretty much omnipotent since he can get in their heads, so it’s not as if the characters are able to exercise good judgment about the choices they make. In fact, they are almost “excused” because of Oleander's influence, and that means being excused over some pretty egregious acts, including murder, adultery, drug addiction, betrayal, and thievery. Moreover, Jessamine has additional reasons to think she might have been “destined” to be evil, and so there is the additional issue of fate versus self-determination.
Unless you are the sort that does not like fantastical elements to your books, this series is quite interesting, and raises numerous points to think about and discuss, among them: what defines love, what is necessary to sustain it, and what poisons it.
Evaluation: It’s not impossible to start the series off with this second book, but you will miss out on some nuances, and maybe even more importantly, you will miss out on the halcyon times when at least some of the characters were suffused with goodness. show less
This is the second installment of a trilogy set in the 1700’s in England, of which only the first two volumes have yet been published. In the first, we learned that Jessamine Luxton, a beautiful young girl of 16, has learned healing arts from her father Thomas. She falls in love with a young man, Weed, who has come to live with them, show more but then she becomes mysteriously ill. At the end of the first volume, she has recovered, but at the price of her own soul, and that of Weed’s. Her father’s soul, she discovered, was already lost.
At the beginning of volume two, Jessamine leaves her home to find Weed, who has disappeared. As she travels to London though, she is not alone, but accompanied by a dark force unleashed by her father’s garden of poisonous plants. By the time Weed finds her, she is not the girl she used to be, and Weed must take his own journey to try and save her from the depths of self-destruction.
Discussion: This is one of the darkest YA books I’ve read in a long time. A hint of what is to come can be found in the heroine's name.
Jessamine was named for the vine with the botanical name Gelsemium sempervirens, sometimes referred to as yellow jasmin. One of the most notable attributes of the plant is the beautiful fragrant flower it produces, but all parts of the plant are extremely poisonous. This turns out to be the case with the character Jessamine as well. In spite of her outward beauty, she turns poisonous to all in her orbit.
The problem for me, however, is that the author has Jessamine become immoral because of the influence of the evil Oleander, Prince of Poisons, whose power has been released by her father’s poison garden. It is Oleander who drives both Jessamine and Weed to commit the evil acts they do. I just don’t know how I feel about the whole “the devil made me do it” take on their behavior. Sure, Oleander could be seen as a metaphor, except that he is not – he is depicted as an actual character. Furthermore, he is pretty much omnipotent since he can get in their heads, so it’s not as if the characters are able to exercise good judgment about the choices they make. In fact, they are almost “excused” because of Oleander's influence, and that means being excused over some pretty egregious acts, including murder, adultery, drug addiction, betrayal, and thievery. Moreover, Jessamine has additional reasons to think she might have been “destined” to be evil, and so there is the additional issue of fate versus self-determination.
Unless you are the sort that does not like fantastical elements to your books, this series is quite interesting, and raises numerous points to think about and discuss, among them: what defines love, what is necessary to sustain it, and what poisons it.
Evaluation: It’s not impossible to start the series off with this second book, but you will miss out on some nuances, and maybe even more importantly, you will miss out on the halcyon times when at least some of the characters were suffused with goodness. show less
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery (Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, 2) by Maryrose Wood
Picking up shortly after the events of [b:The Mysterious Howling|6609748|The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1)|Maryrose Wood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347467632s/6609748.jpg|6803715], indefatiguable teenage governess Penelope Lumley is back, along with her charges, Alexander, Beowulf, and Casseopia Incorrigible, three siblings who were actually (probably) raised by wolves. Also back is Nutsawoo, the squirrel that Casseopia unexpectedly adopted as a show more pet after he crashed Lady Constance's Christmas party. When the human inhabitants of Ashton place are packed off to London during estate repairs, poor little Nutsawoo is left behind.
“Of course we will send postcards to Nutsawoo. And we shall bring him back a present as well. In fact,' she went on, with the instinctive knack every good governess has for turning something enjoyable into a lesson, and vice versa, 'I will expect all three of you to practice your writing by keeping a journal of our trip so that Nutsawoo may know how we spend our days. Why, by the time we return, he will think he has been to London himself! He will be the envy of all his little squirrel friends,' she declared.
Penelope had no way of knowing if this last statement was true. Could squirrels feel envy? Would they give two figs about London? Did Nutsawoo even have friends?”
While Penelope attempts to make the children's (and, indeed, her own) first trip to London educational and culturally enriching, strange events continue to follow the quartet, including a creepy warning from a mysterious gypsy woman, a guidebook that is often less than helpful, a confusing encounter with Penelope's former headmistress and more strange behavior from Lord Ashton. More questions than clues regarding the Incorrigibles' origins (as well as Penelope's) pile up, with no real answers, but since this is only the second of six books, I'll assume that all the mysteries will eventually be solved.
In the meantime, I'll be satisfied with charming passages like this:
“Nowadays, people resort to all kinds of activities in order to calm themselves after a stressful event: performing yoga poses in a sauna, leaping off bridges while tied to a bungee, killing imaginary zombies with imaginary weapons, and so forth. But in Miss Penelope Lumley's day, it was universally understood that there is nothing like a nice cup of tea to settle one's nerves in the aftermath of an adventure- a practice many would find well worth reviving.” show less
“Of course we will send postcards to Nutsawoo. And we shall bring him back a present as well. In fact,' she went on, with the instinctive knack every good governess has for turning something enjoyable into a lesson, and vice versa, 'I will expect all three of you to practice your writing by keeping a journal of our trip so that Nutsawoo may know how we spend our days. Why, by the time we return, he will think he has been to London himself! He will be the envy of all his little squirrel friends,' she declared.
Penelope had no way of knowing if this last statement was true. Could squirrels feel envy? Would they give two figs about London? Did Nutsawoo even have friends?”
While Penelope attempts to make the children's (and, indeed, her own) first trip to London educational and culturally enriching, strange events continue to follow the quartet, including a creepy warning from a mysterious gypsy woman, a guidebook that is often less than helpful, a confusing encounter with Penelope's former headmistress and more strange behavior from Lord Ashton. More questions than clues regarding the Incorrigibles' origins (as well as Penelope's) pile up, with no real answers, but since this is only the second of six books, I'll assume that all the mysteries will eventually be solved.
In the meantime, I'll be satisfied with charming passages like this:
“Nowadays, people resort to all kinds of activities in order to calm themselves after a stressful event: performing yoga poses in a sauna, leaping off bridges while tied to a bungee, killing imaginary zombies with imaginary weapons, and so forth. But in Miss Penelope Lumley's day, it was universally understood that there is nothing like a nice cup of tea to settle one's nerves in the aftermath of an adventure- a practice many would find well worth reviving.” show less
I don't care if it's meant for children. What could be more delightful than the inimitable Katherine Kellgren reading the audio version of a story that's part Series of Unfortunate Events (orphans, complex words, adult humor) and part Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins (plucky governess, manners, eternal optimism, scatter-brained lord and lady) but with a dash of its own uniqueness? For these orphans are no ordinary orphans - they were raised by wolves! And, since there are three children of show more differing ages, a person (and by that I mean, 15-year-old governess Penelope Lumley) must wonder exactly *how* they came to be raised by wolves and if they can ever be taught to behave as children. Absolutely entertaining on audio. show less
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