Book review: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

According to my carefully considered blogging schedule, for the first post of October, I was supposed to feature a recipe post. Unfortunately for me, cooking has taken a backseat and it'll be at least another week before I can even start thinking about blog-worthy recipes. So I've decided to publish a book review that I had completed around 6 months ago. Let's just say I'm starting October with food for thought 😄

Kate Quinn is the reigning queen of historical fiction. Whether she is writing about World War I France or post-World War II London, ancient Rome or Renaissance Italy, she brings her readers history with an irreverent twist. 

I have previously mentioned on my blog how much I adore historical fiction as a genre of book and cinema. And I am fascinated with stories centered around women. Give me a well-written story combining the two and the author will gain a fan in me for life! I came across The Rose Code on goodreads and the blurb caught my interest immediately. I am so glad I read it because I can safely say that this book is one among my favourites from 2022 (and it so happens that I've read several brilliant books this year). 

***Plot***

The year is 1940. Britain is bracing for retaliation from the Nazis. Able-bodied men all over the country are enlisting in the British Armed Forces. 

In Bletchley Park (BP for short), an isolated country estate, WWII preparation of a different sort is underway. Here, the best and brightest minds in Britain are brought together to crack German ciphers that could reveal enemy secrets and change the tide of war. The codebreakers of BP are both men and women; a motley crew of nerds and oddballs consisting of Oxford and Cambridge graduates, mathematicians, chess players, crossword solvers and language experts. The widespread belief that the Enigma codes used by the Axis powers were uncrackable was proved wrong at the top-secret decryption facility. 

Osla Kendall, a wealthy and vivacious socialite is fed up of being perceived as a dim-witted debutante. Fluent in German, she is recruited at BP as a translator. On the other hand, self-made Mab Churt, hailing from the underprivileged section of London’s East End is desperately seeking to improve her prospects in life. Mab is initially recruited at BP for her secretarial skills but she eventually progresses to operate and maintain decoding machines. 

While billeting in the  local village cottage of a timid and repressed young spinster named Beth Finch, Osla and Mab discover Beth’s remarkable aptitude for crosswords. Yanking her out of the shadow of her domineering mother, Beth is recommended for recruitment at BP where she gradually blossoms into a star cryptanalyst. Although the three extraordinary young women are starkly different in personality, come from different walks of life and possess different skill sets, they manage to forge a close friendship as the war drags on. Their days turn into years which heave under immense workload, the strain of keeping official secrets and the constant worry of bombing raids over British cities. The combined physical and mental exhaustion takes a heavy toll on them. 

In a dramatic twist, the three friends are driven apart by a terrible secret that irrevocably changes the course of life of one of them. They turn against each other and the friendship dissipates into a cloud of blame, animosity and estrangement. One of them is eventually committed to a mental asylum. 

Against insurmountable odds, the three women have to resurrect their former alliance to expose a mysterious traitor at BP who has committed treason. One who has also betrayed each of them. 

My thoughts....

This is the first novel from author Kate Quinn that I have read. I admire her writing style which is simple evocative prose laced with wit and humor. With real-life characters such as Prince Philip of Greece, Princess Elizabeth (aka the OG Lilibet), Princess Margaret, Winston Churchill and Alan Turing  injected into the narrative, this novel integrates momentous twentieth century history with imaginative fiction. At over 650 pages, this is a chunky novel but if you ask me, at no point does it get boring. The plot moves on at a steady pace and there are no meandering subplots or unnecessary characters to distract the reader. I did feel that there were some soap opera twists but reading the author’s note at the end, it appears that they were entirely plausible.

The shuffling timelines from the “present” i.e. 1947, the year of Princess Elizabeth’s and Prince Philip’s royal wedding to the tumultuous war years of 1940-1944 made the reading experience more engaging. The author conveys the insular atmosphere of BP and the lives of people working there. Even with serious subjects like war and espionage at the crux of the novel, she makes the story lively and immersive. As a wannabe writer myself, I loved Bletchley Blitherings, the weekly humor column. The little segments at the start of each chapter served to lighten the narrative as did the Mad Hatters literary society that provides discussions on books. The glimpse into the walls of a mental institution of those times which hid the abuse and brutality that patients faced together with barbaric surgical techniques like lobotomies was very hard to read. As a woman, the author has been able to authentically encapsulate the insecurity, guilt and sense of loss that her female characters go through. She also highlights the prejudices that women back then faced. 

I loved the central themes of the novel that revolve around women from all social classes/family backgrounds/education levels coming together in a unique, mysterious place where their voices are heard and their gifts appreciated. It highlights what women can do if they are only given a chance. In The Rose Code, the three female protagonists are part of a massive codebreaking operation that not only changes the war and the world but it also changes each of them profoundly as well.

Of all the characters, my favorite is Osla. Charming, capable and witty, Osla is instantly likeable and despite her wealth and social standing, she comes across as rather relatable. Her vulnerability is exposed in her yearning for a place called home, her insecurity is masked by a thirst to prove herself and her goodness is apparent in her ability to forgive and move on. All these qualities make her a strong and memorable character. Her relationship with Prince Philip has been handled in a way that is both believable and dignified. 

I initially liked Mab due to her steely grit and no-nonsense attitude but when darker shades to her personality began to unravel, I was put off slightly even with all the heartache she had to endure. 

Beth is a complex and temperamental character. Her mother’s overwhelmingly negative influence on her kept her real personality suppressed. It was refreshing to see how the impact of friendship and working at BP, drew Beth out of her shell. I cheered her on when she stood up for herself. With a matchless intellect, hard work and tenacity, Beth managed to prove her worth. But her indifference, hypocrisy and failure to stand by her friends, cost her dearly and I wasn’t in any rush to feel sympathetic towards her even though she endured way more than she should have. 

Of the supporting characters - Prince Philip (I always found him the most interesting member of the British royal family!), Francis, Dilly and Harry were the ones who stood out. 

With a brilliant plot, meticulous research, richly-developed characters and a nail-biting finish, The Rose Code has all the ingredients for a scintillating historical fiction novel. 

A resounding tale of friendship, fortitude, forgiveness and most importantly, the indomitable spirit of women. As Osla would probably put it - "absolutely topping darling!". 

Highly recommended.

My rating for this book is

Have you read The Rose Code? What did you think about it? Leave a comment to let me know.

Cheers,

Megha