We Speak No Treason: The Flowering of the Rose

Best selling author both in the UK and the North America, Rosemary Hawley Jarman was born in Worcester. She lived most of her time in Worcestershire at Callow End, between Worcester and Upton on Severn. She began to write for pleasure, and followed a very real and valid obsession with the character of King Richard III. With no thought of publication she completed a novel showing the King in his true colours, away from Tudor and Shakespearian propaganda. The book was taken up almost accidentally by an agent, and within six weeks a contract for publication and four other novels was signed with HarperCollins. The first novel We Speak No Treason was awarded The Silver Quill, a prestigious Author's Club Award, and sold out its first print of 30,000 copies within seven days. We Speak No Treason was followed by The King's Grey Mare, Crown in Candlelight and The Courts of Illusion.

PRAISE FOR WE SPEAK NO TREASON: 'Ablaze with colour, smell and sound, for lovers of the historical novel, this is a feast' VOGUE; 'A rattling good tale' ANTONIA FRASER; 'The portrait of Richard III is utterly credible... a superb novel, the product of a rare talent' THE SUNDAY EXPRESS; 'The flow of the narrative, the richness of the scene are superb' THE SUNDAY MIRROR; 'Superb... I could not put it down' THE SUNDAY MIRROR; 'Miss Jarman manages to convey the lush, devious bawdy ambience of her chosen century' TIME; 'Brilliant... A broad, rich tapestey of medieval life' THE SUNDAY EXPRESS; 'An outstanding first. What mostly emerges is an unusual sense of the historical detail: the folds in the dress, the smell of bodies crammed in low and smoky rooms, the light in a diamond on a hand travelling across a yellow parchment' THE GUARDIAN; 'A most impressive novel. The historical background is very good indeed, every major source has been used to add to the verisimilitude to the tale' TLS.