Nipped in the Bud

About the Book

Nipped in the Bud is a quintessential British tragedy, set in an era when social mores took precedence over human nature.

Seventeen year old Mary Devereaux is frightened by a distressing nightmare.   Her parents, Lord and Lady Devereaux, are leaving for an archeological expedition to China’s Alashan Desert, where a war is being waged in the south.  Mary returns to her girls’ college in Malvern, worried that she will never see her parents again.  

Jack Gilbert, a widowed architect, is doing renovation work on the girls’ college.  He finds Mary, along with several other girls, alone on the campus, waiting to go home for Christmas.  When Mary receives news that her parents are unable to return home, she finds herself abandoned over the holidays.  Jack takes her under his wing, and a fateful May-December romance begins.  Mary and Jack’s time together is bittersweet, and neither anticipates the tragic consequences that follow.  

Nipped in the Bud gives a richly detailed portrait of life in Malvern, Worcestershire in the late 1920s.  The story is told amid a picturesque atmosphere, showing the music, clothing, lifestyles, and social climate of the era.  Poignant, the tale also reflects the harsh realities of the time; class differences, illiteracy, and secrets kept for the sake of appearances.

About the Author

Stanley Rouse was born and raised in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. He has successively been a printer, baker, soldier, police officer, salesman, interior designer, factory supervisor, bookshop owner, and businessman. He has three daughters, two sons, and seven grandchildren. After living in Canada for a number of years, he and his wife now live on the Isle of Wight, England.