East Texas, 1916 When precocious 16-year-old Mary Toliver inherits cotton plantation Somerset from her father, the first seeds of familial discontent are sown. By becoming the new mistress of Somerset, Mary betrays her mother Darla and her brother Miles, and the Toliver dynasty will never recover. And when Mary and timber magnate Percy Warwick decide not to marry, though fiercely in love, it is a decision which will have sad and tragic consequences not only for them but for generations of their families to come. Set against a panoramic backdrop, Roses is a heartbreaking love story of sex, scandal and seduction. It covers 100 years and three generations of Texans.

莱拉•米查姆（Leila Meacham）

若要追溯米查姆的创作生涯，那已然是她人到晚年的事了。这位一直居住在东得克萨斯的普通教师，直到退休之后，才刚刚踏上写作之路。

米查姆从未指望自己笔下的那些浪漫故事会有出版问世的一天。但出人意料的是，她最初写就的三部作品，竟全都顺利地收到了出版社的合约，并在成书上市之后，引起了媒体、读者的广泛好评。这给了米查姆动力，也使之下定决心要一直创作下去，绝不再经历人生的“第二次退休”。

《玫瑰传奇》是米查姆的处女作，对她具有重要的意义，就像米查姆描述的那样：“退休之后几乎无所事事，直到某一天，我静下心来坐下，开始动笔创作《玫瑰传奇》的时候，人生才意外地在这个时期发生了转变。”