SOMETHING SINISTER PURSUED ANN FORRESTER AT ROSEVEAN-
SOMETHING THAT MADE HER SLEEP IN FEAR AND WAKE IN TERROR!
Ann Forrester came to Rosevean, a gloomy gothic mansion, as the personal assistant to its iron-willed mistress, Mrs. Pendine.
At first Ann’s duties were routine. Suddenly she realized that Rosevean was a house riddled with jealousy, secrets and menace.
But it wasn’t until Mrs. Pendine’s strange death that the tentacles of Rosevean reached out to Ann herself, strangling her slowly and surely in its fatal grip…
Written by Iris Bromige. First Paperback Library printing September 1965.
I’m going through a bit of a John Fowles phase at the moment, which means I’m falling a bit behind on my gothic romance reading. I’ve just finished the French Lieutenant’s Woman (a review of which might possibly be squeezed on to these pages, the leading lady was nicknamed Tragedy after all…) and I’ve now started on The Collector, so it might be a while before I have any reviews to post here.
In the meantime I thought I’d show off another lovely Paperback Library Gothic. This looks like a Lou Marchetti cover to me, though I can’t see a signature. The lady in the foreground looks a little awkward but I love the wintry palette of blues used for that dark bruised sky – a trademark of many of these Paperback Library covers.
According to my (out of date) reference book on Gothic and Romance writers, Iris Bromige is a British writer born in London 1910, educated at Clapham County Secondary School and married to Alan Frank Bromige. She lived local to me on the Sussex Downs and was one of Women’s Weekly’s most popular contributors.
Best known for her ‘gentle, quiet, English’ romances rather than her gothic novels, she has had over forty titles published on both sides of the Atlantic since the 1940’s.
There’s not much about Iris Bromige on the web, though there is a site dedicated to her books with some photos, here: http://www.thirzajane.com/ib/welcome.html. Seems like they’re looking for more information on the life and works of this author, so if you have anything to share, please get in touch.
Happy reading!
my love-haunted heart 
You’re absolutely correct Sara. The cover for Rosevean is about as obvious an example of Lou Marchetti’s gothic period as you’ll find!
Cheers Ruben! I have a quite a few of these paperback library covers and yes, his style is becoming more and more recognisable to me.
Sorry to say, but this book cover for Rosevean is extremely misleading! Iris Bromige did not write gothic novels. In this book, the heroine, Ann Forrester, never ‘slept in fear and woke in terror’, and Mrs Pendine died of a stroke in her eighties – nothing sinister or strange. It’s a good story, and a gentle romance. Nothing gothic about it!
Hi Marilyn, thanks for your comment and setting the record straight. As for the mis-leading blurb on this edition, I’m not at all surprised! 🙂 Unfortunately this was very common back when the publishers were so keen to sell anything under the gothic romance genre, leaving a lot of fans confused and disappointed. It is great to hear from someone who has read the book though!