Tiger Lilies - Hardcover

Glover, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312059779 ISBN 13: 9780312059774

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1991

Synopsis

Traces the path of a friendship between a shy, rich girl, Flora Dennison, and a magnetic tenement child, Roseen O'Conner, over a lifetime of love, heartbreak, and forgiveness during the early part of the twentieth century

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Another period tale by the author of The Imagination of the Heart (1990) and The Stallion Man (1983). This one hops out of the Victorian era in England's Midlands to the Great War years, and features two girls from different backgrounds--as well as with different fortunes and temperaments--who, at the close, rescue each other from a life crisis. Flora, daughter of well-to-do tradesman George Dennison, had envied Roseen O'Connor, daughter of widowed, gin-swigging Connie (who, unknown to all, was George's mistress). Roseen was pretty and lively, and Flora always suspected that her own father, who paid Roseen a good deal of attention, liked the other girl better. But in adulthood, each of the two has romantic problems. Roseen's husband dies in the war, and Ma is soggy with gin. Roseen ends up going from man to man. She's also deceived, fleeced of money left her by George, and nearly dies from her second abortion. Meanwhile, Flora, carrying the torch for a man she truly loves, the already married Robert, hitches herself to a dull sort just in order to forget. Then the husband conveniently dies; Robert returns to discuss divorce--and Flora must make a decision. Enter Roseen again--friendship develops, and mutual aid pays off. Roseen, the tiger here, is a Cookson kind of gel, and this is decidedly a scullery tale--sentimental, gossipy, and entertaining. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

Although Flora Dennison receives her father's financial support and bemused affection, Roseen O'Connor, the daughter of his mistress, captures most of his love. From the time the girls are 12, in 1905, their lives intersect in various ways. Roseen covets Flora's wealth and status, while Flora envies Roseen's beauty and self-assurance. As young women, Roseen suffers through one unpromising love affair after another, while Flora agonizes over her affection for a married man. The novel, set in England's Midlands, has an open ending that hints at happiness for Flora and Roseen--or a sequel. Overall, this lacks Glover's usual deft handling of different plot lines (e.g., The Imagination of the Heart , LJ 2/1/90). The relationship between the women seems tenuous and without emotional punch. Roseen, in particular, is a stock character.
- Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0312059779
• ISBN 13: 9780312059774
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 333