Do you enjoy reading historical fiction books with the incredible friendship story featured and the obstacles women faced in the 1940s? If you are curious about these things and feel an urge to know more. The Book that I am reviewing this time, “The Rose Code by Kate Quinn,” covers all these topics in it and many more, like the feeling of support for others, forgiveness, remorse, regret, grief, ambition, secrecy, and much more, which you will discover as you read the article till the end.
The author gives us a thrilling tale about three women who worked as code-breakers at Bletchley Park outside of London during World War 2nd. The story is full of aspirations, determination, courage, betrayal, and secrecy. As you read the gripping historical fiction, you will explore love, betrayal, grief, friendship, and the profound responsibility of keeping a thought-provoking and heartbreaking secret with a beautiful reminder about the sacrifices made by humankind and the strength of these enduring characters.
The Rose Code follows three women are recruited to work at Bletchley Park during World War II with a common purpose: joining the fight against the Nazis by breaking the German military codes. After being separated by a wartime secret, the women came together once again to discover the truth about their past.
I can’t give anything away, but as you read into the story, you see twists that surprise you that are very enjoyable to read. Let’s explore the review for more details regarding the novel.
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn | Book Review
Author
Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn, a native of Southern California, is a bestselling author of historical fiction and a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Quinn was born in Long Beach, California. She earned a master’s degree in classical voice from Boston University and now lives in California with her husband and three black rescue dogs.
In addition to her four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, she has written two books set in the Italian Renaissance and three set in the 20th century, namely The Alice Network, The Huntress, and The Rose Code. Her books have been translated into multiple languages.
Overview of the Book | The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
A heart-stopping World War II story about three female code-breakers at Bletchley Park who must hunt down a spy after the war ends.
Length: 656 pages
Language: English
Genre: historical fiction, thriller, war story
Publisher: William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, published the Book in 2021.
Publication date: 3 March 2021
Setting: The Rose Code alternates between two time periods, starting with World War II in 1940 and the post-war period in 1947.
Point of view: From their separate points of view, the story is told in two parallel timelines that merge at the end.
Major themes: explores the dynamics during World War II at Bletchley Park in England, includes thoughtful and negotiable themes like friendship, betrayal, loyalty, ambition, female solidarity, forgiveness, serenity, grief, and guilt over a decision made.
Main character: the story is about three female code-breakers, Mabel “Mab ” Churt, Osla Kendall, and Bethan “Beth” Finch working at Bletchley Park during WW11 in England. They not only formed an enduring friendship but also formed long-lasting bonds because they were all pledged to keep the action secret.
How did the research take place? Kate Quinn visited Bletchley Park in England and learned about how the machines were used and read dozens of books about code-breaking post-war for women using her extraordinary storytelling abilities.
Is the Rose Code based on a true story? Kate Quinn shared one of her experiences while writing the Rose code novel. Quinn explained that the novel was based on real-life women involved in Bletchley park; many of the characters were real people, but the story was fiction.
Summary of the Book | The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
1940, England prepares to fight against the Nazis. This wartime brings three different women to a mysterious country estate at Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain were trained to crack Nazi military codes.
In Bletchley Park, Osla, who is beautiful, socialized, a quick thinker without family stability, but who eventually falls in love with Prince Philip, knows German, so she is used to translating enemy secrets.
Mabel, the second friend, is a feisty girl from one of London’s poorer areas who desire to rebuild herself by getting an education, finding a husband, and working on code-breaking machines in Bletchley Park. Then we have Beth, who has zero self-esteem, is shy, has a very oppressive and abusive mother towards her, and believes that she is worthless, whereas she is brilliant and a star Cryptanalyst.
The women serve their country together while making a life for themselves. However, like all Bletchley employees, the women live secret lives by hiding what they do at work and much of their everyday lives hidden from loved ones. Nevertheless, war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will separate the three, first through tragedy, then through treason.
1947, as the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Thrilling post-war Britain, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious letter whose key is buried in their long-ago betrayal that ended their friendship and put one in an asylum.
The mysterious traitor from their Bletchley Park past has emerged, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one more code together. But as they remove the petals from the rose code, a greater danger looms, and their true enemy is closer than ever.
What You Can Learn from the Book
This story is about an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things at Bletchley Park during the time of war. It alternates between the 1940s and the early years of the war to 1947. This is a highly well-researched book about working this very secretive job at Bletchley. It has some fascinating twists and turns.
The Rose Code is a book filled with history, drama, and romance. Quinn does a great job of weaving history and fiction together to write a page-turner, and for those who are reluctant to read long books, this is a good choice.
A lot is going on in this Book. It follows three friends, Beth, Osla, and Mab, who all work at top-secret Bletchley Park during the war. Each character’s story is compelling, and the personalities of the three are fascinating.
It was interesting to see how women worked together with men shoulder to shoulder in these critically important roles at Bletchley Park, which was a great experience. They had to return to their regular lives as mothers and wives, forget about that crazy part of their lives, and try to manage both things separately.
The way a man and a woman worked so well with one another during these crucial times and the situations and experiences these characters come up with for you are genuinely heart-warming.
As with the WWII book, there were trigger warnings, and the subject matter was war, so there was physical and sexual abuse. Of course, the issue of forgiveness and grieving will be at the core of the story. It involves emotional and physical abuse, the death of loved ones, and grief.
My thoughts about the Book | The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
In the description of the work Kate Kate Quinn did, it is described that three young women met men they developed romantic relationships with that were pretty realistic to the point that there are conflicts and secrets they have to keep during their job. In addition, there was suspense and action at times which made for a delightful read.
You will enjoy reading about the women who helped shape the face of war behind the scenes. For me, it shows the unseen kind of heroes of the war. Although this was always told from the male perspective and how the men fought in it, some women contributed to this war effort, which was quite interesting to learn about In this novel.
Throughout the story, you weave in and out of history and the present day. As the reader, you are exposed to what happened, what led to the falling out, how Beth ended up in this asylum, etc. No matter how you view it, it’s just very intriguing due to the inner weaving of the different storylines.
Rating for the Book | The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
My rating for this novel “The Rose Code by Kate Quinn” is 4 stars out of 5.
Conclusion & Recommendations | The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
You will enjoy this Book if you are a fan of Historical Fiction, especially those who appreciate diving into WWII Historical Fiction. I will find this book a worthwhile read for those who appreciate complex friendships, drama, and exciting characters in a well-written, thoughtful, compelling story.
It is highly recommended that you read this Book. It’s a book worth reading. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Have a great day! Happy Reading!
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