The Rosary

To the great confusion of Catholic readers over the past century and a bit, there is no actual rosary in this novel. The title is that of an oddly-named sentimental ballad which the female protagonist sings in a domestic concert, awakening her male counterpart to recognize her sterling qualities.

The characters are rather well-realized and the writing is very good. The plot would do for a Harlequin romance of the 1960s (Hero is blind! How can he be brought to realize that heroine loves -- not pities -- him! Cue plots and deceptions!) but it really is much better fleshed-out, and the author's viewpoint on religion and theology is correct (for an Anglican) and well-expressed.

I own this book because my grandmother gave a copy to my show more grandfather in 1939, being very young and apparently not realizing that her husband really wasn't a romance-reading kind of fellow. show less

Can I give this 6 stars? Or more? It was so, so sweet, and I am learning that I really love these obscure books written around the turn of the 20th century. The dialogue was rich and thoughtful and the characters were all just entirely lovable. There was a strong sense of nobility, dignity, and faithfulness that was part of the plot. It was just great.

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1513757.html

This romance novel was apparently the best-seller of the year 1910, so I thought I would test the durability of its appeal. What immediately struck me was that this tale of the young English gentry working through the difficulties of their love lives in order to reach the safe haven of engagement and marriage is exactly the kind of thing that P.G. Wodehouse was parodying (there is even an eccentric Duchess with peculiar taste in pets here); so even if nobody actually reads The Rosary these days, it has a certain legacy.

It is well enough written - I certainly liked it much more than 1909's bestseller - with the plot concerning a youngish woman who turns down a proposal of marriage because she show more feels she is not beautiful enough for her artistic admirer, though she lies and tells him that he is too young for her. She then travels around the world, bitterly regretting her choice, and on hearing that her young man has been struck blind by a plot device, persuades a friendly doctor to allow her to nurse him while pretending to be someone else who just happens to have a similar voice to the woman he loves. Well, you can guess how it ends, but it would probably make a decent film, either set in 1910 or updated to the present. Though we might skip over the unexpected revelation two-thirds of the way through that she had gained nursing experience in the Boer War (why did this not come up earlier?) and I suspect that the author is not well-informed about Scottish marriage law (oh, darn, I gave away the ending).

The Rosary of the title, incidentally, was a very popular song of the day which our heroine sings, thus convincing our hero that she is the one for him. If you really want to hear it, I've found a Vera Lynn rendition on Youtube, though I could have done without the picture sequence.

And my friends list have satisfied me about the sperm. show less

this quote summarize the whole theme of the novel...
"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart"
Kahlil Gibran
i read it, and really enjoyed...

talks about the inner beauty And the extent to which it can overcome the beauty of appearance......and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....

The story of Jean Champion .. a Woman in her thirties ,

she is simple looking but has a sweet voice and is talented in playing piano ....
Garth .. A young man who is very handsome, and wealthy .. Well-known, as a painter with great skills ...
during one of the concerts, attended by both, the singer didnt come , Jane replaced her.. she agreed to sing but was .. too shy to sing in front of people ...

she sang the rosary:



The hours I spent with show more thee, dear heart
Are as a string of pearls to me
I count them over, ev'ry one apart
My rosary, my rosary

Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer
To still a heart in absence wrung
I tell each bead unto the end
And there a cross is hung

O, memories that bless and burn
O, barren gain and bitter loss
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn
To kiss the cross, sweet heart, to kiss the cross

her soft and affectionate voice and the tone of nostalgia in her song
Garth was completely surprised! ..her beautiful soul was unfolded and her sweetness!


he asks to marry her but she rejected his love as he is a (boy)and too young,for her!
Jane was not ugly, but her excessive sensitivity make her feel that she didnt deserve his love..

he was hurted as he love her deeply and see her prettiness and beauty,,,

the story makes you want to keep reading till you find out how the lovers reunite.....


this novel takes you to the perfect love emotions....

If you like stories like Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility, you'll enjoy this.... show less

A romance from 1910. The Rosary is a song, nothing to do with faith. The language is very flowery and the plot is slow-moving. Meh

THIS IS LITERALLY SO UNREAOSNAVLY FUNNY HEIWOQJSJDJDJDJD
maybe because it’s 2am or it’s romance or maybe bc i lost my old propensity for reading early 20th century novels but i’m literally FRKAKING LOSIBG IT AHAT!!!! GIRL HELP!
like alright yea there were some really deep parts and quotes and funny moments (early 20th has some really funny dry humor) but mostly i was screaming at the romance i think this is a sign that i should stop ever reading pure romance novels especially from this time period
s c r e a m the PREACHINESS TOO KAHDJDJFND this is killing me bye

En la obra, el amor que siente Garth por Jane está lleno de cortesía y de respeto, al mismo tiempo que de devoción, de perseverancia y de mesura que no empañan el ardor de la pasión. Jane al considerarse una mujer fea, no cree que el amor de Garth, apasionado por todo cuanto sea bello, pueda soportar el paso del tiempo, al no ser el suyo “uno de esos rostros que se desearía tener siempre ante la vista y que hacen pensar con deleite en la posibilidad de verlos todos los días ante la mesa”. La inseguridad de Jane lleva a la pareja a una dolorosa separación, que según la fe religiosa de ambos es la cruz que deben soportar.