Rose Tremain famously eschews autobiographical material in her fiction, so this account of her childhood feels so fresh it stings. [she] brings her formidable talent for characterisation to bear on the vanished, culpable cast of her childhood--Claire Lowdon, Sunday Times, **Books of the Year** Rose Tremain manages to fit more wisdom, more unforgettable scenes, more illuminating recollections , into this 194-page memoir than other writers do in memoirs three times the length. A book as nourishing, but concise as this makes you wonder why other writers have to be so long-winded . For anyone who loves Tremain's novels this memoir is a vital companion --Ysenda Maxton Graham, The Times Intriguing and moving . So much more alert and open and alive than so many slightly disappointing memoirs by otherwise great writers . Rosie is a work of self-discovery in the best possible sense of the word - it pulls you in, unsettles, comforts and exhilarates and, finally, makes you see your life anew --Julie Myerson, The Spectator Rose Tremain turns to non-fiction for the first time with this lyrical account of her life up to the age of 18 . The evocation of 1950s schoolgirldom, with all its emotions, elations and smells, is wonderfully vivid - distinctive , like being donated a set of dreams . A quiet drama, but as you'd expect it's the writing that makes this book such a delight --Claire Harman, Evening Standard A beautifully written ode to the tenacity of our younger selves --Francesca Brown, Stylist.