I'm branching out a little bit here, and not writing directly about tea. Instead, I'm going to write a book review about a book ABOUT tea. And it's not even a non-fiction book about tea, it's a novel. But, please don't stop reading, because I promise I have good reason for diverging.
Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose is a novel about murder, unions, mayhem, and the tea industry in 1888. It's also a love story. The story itself is quite diverting. In fact, I couldn't put it down until I found out how things would turn out for the feisty Fiona Finnegan. Parts are heart-wrenching and I strongly recommend having a kleenex or two handy while reading. It starts out in East London with the story of a poor family struggling to make it while working for Burton Tea. Fiona dreams of opening up her own tea shop with her sweetheart, but all goes awry. It's extremely exciting.
So what does this all have to be about tea? Well it's all centered around the tea industry for one. And Fiona has a sharp nose for tea, whether it be Assam or Darjeeling. The author takes some liberties with the origins of scented tea, iced tea, and teabags, but it's entertaining nonetheless. And anyone who has spent any amount of time with large amounts of loose tea will empathize with Fiona that tea dust gets everywhere. All in all, watching the tea industry develop through the story is just as interesting as the plot itself was to me. A few familiar names are even mentioned, such as Twinings and Tetley.
