Sarah Maine Invites Readers on a Journey With her Latest Book 'Alchemy and Rose'

Alchemy and Rose was published in January 2021. Photo by Catherine Fitzhugh Wilson.

Set against the backdrop of the gold rush that infested the west coast of New Zealand during the late nineteenth century, Sarah Maine’s ‘Alchemy and Rose’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 2021) invites the reader on a journey.

In the opening pages, Will Stewart joins the townsfolk of Hokitika to watch an unfortunate ship collide with the rocks near the beach and notices one of the unlucky passengers, a young woman, clinging to a wooden pallet. Running into the waves to pull her to shore, so begins the story of Will and Rose, an adventure that will span not only miles but the trials in pursuit of love, wealth, self-discovery, and power, all as stormy as the oceans our characters will cross.

Although Maine can beautifully create a vision of Hokitika as a bustling town full of hopeful immigrants from all corners of the globe seeking their fortune, the cast of important characters remains small. While a lot of the novel is told through the eyes of Will, it’s actually Rose’s story. Our three key male characters are Will, an immigrant from Scotland eager to outrun a murky past; Fraser, a fellow Scot and ambitious photographer; and Robbie, an Irish prospector with dreams beyond his means. Although they are worlds apart in social class and worldview, they prove themselves similar in how they remain fundamentally steadfast and unchanged in the face of their misfortunes.

They each, in turn, signify a new stage in Rose’s journey as she goes from a young girl whose prickly exterior hides bone-deep insecurity and hopelessness to a woman who recognises her self-worth. Will gives her unconditional love, Fraser gives her confidence, and Robbie, although inadvertently, gives her the means to consolidate her newfound strength. Rose is the alchemy of the novel’s title, the lead turning to gold, learning that even in the face of great adversity, as a terrible mistake leaves her and Will separated, never to let the pitfalls leave their mark on her soul.

With richly drawn characters and a beautifully evocative sense of place, even while our characters travel from the blistering heat of a New Zealand mining town to a grey and dreary Glasgow, the reader is a spectator to a game of cat-and-mouse that spans half the world. While the outcome is not exactly unpredictable, there are some unexpected twists along the way. While let down slightly by a lacklustre ending that does not fully deliver on what was promised by the rising tension of the past 300 pages, Maine’s lyrical prose is a delight to the last word.

At its heart, it is a love story. The fascinating period of history that surrounds the story adds a unique dimension to the tale, immersing the reader in an era that often goes unexplored in historical novels. ‘Alchemy and Rose’ is a historical novel that, for its imperfections, has moments of excellence that will leave the reader eagerly awaiting Maine’s next offering.