Rose Madder is a 1995 novel by Stephen King. It deals with the effects of domestic violence (which King had touched upon before in the novels It, Insomnia, Dolores Claiborne and Needful Things, and many others) and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology. In his memoir, On Writing, King states that Rose Madder and Insomnia are "overwritten, working too hard novels."
In the present tense prologue, which tak...
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Rose Madder is a 1995 novel by Stephen King. It deals with the effects of domestic violence (which King had touched upon before in the novels It, Insomnia, Dolores Claiborne and Needful Things, and many others) and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology. In his memoir, On Writing, King states that Rose Madder and Insomnia are "overwritten, working too hard novels."
In the present tense prologue, which takes place in 1985, Rose Daniels's husband, Norman, beats her while she is four months pregnant, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. Rose briefly considers leaving Norman but dismisses the idea: Norman is a policeman, and is excellent at finding people. Norman also has a violent temper and was recently accused of assaulting an African-American woman named Wendy Yarrow. The subsequent lawsuit and Internal Affairs investigation has made him even more volatile.
The story then jumps ahead to a morning nine years later, when Rose is making the bed....
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