A PATTERN OF ROSES

by K. M. Peyton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 23, 1973

Tim Ingram has none of the bravura of Patrick Pennington; his rebellion begins quietly with a visit from a ghost -- one Tom Inskip who died at the age of fifteen in 1910 and left behind nothing but a packet of amateurish sketches in the old house now occupied by Tim's London family. Encouraged also by Rebecca, the brillo-haired, socially conscious vicar's daughter, Tim rejects his parents' plans for him to make a career in advertising and finds free time to draw while working as a blacksmith's assistant. In ironic contrast to Tim's choice, flashbacks to the life of Tom Inskip show a talent blighted by hard manual labor and a tragic death caused by Tom's desire to impress the then vicar's pretty but completely self-centered niece. There's a moment of fear on the anniversary of Tom's drowning when it seems that some sort of inscrutable logic will demand Tim's life as well, but Peyton never pushes the parallels too far. Each boy's life has its own quiet truth, and Tom's suffering makes Tim's successful break from his apparent destiny all the more admirable.

Pub Date: July 23, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION