Red as a Rose is She: A Novel

Red as a Rose Is She, by Rhoda Broughton (1870). This commonplace love-story is very simply told. The scene is laid in Wales. The heroine, Esther Craven, promises to marry Robert Brandon, “to keep him quiet,” though caring much less for him than for her only brother. But on a visit she meets the heaven-appointed lover, and notwithstanding her engagement the two at once fall in love. Interested friends, who do not approve the affair, plot and bear false witness to break it off. Esther confesses to Brandon her change of feeling, and he is man enough to release her. Then ensues a period of loneliness, misunderstanding, and hardship for the heroine, whose character is ripened by adversity. When happiness once more stands waiting for her, she has learned how to use its gifts. The story moves quickly, and is entertaining.