14 h 15 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 15 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it mean to belong when the place you call home changes hands?
In The Rose of Old St. Louis, Mary Dillon sets a love story beside a turning point in the American past. St. Louis is a trading town on the Mississippi at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. The change in rule gives this frontier romance its unsettled ground.
Love, loyalty, and adventure meet in a world where the river carries goods, news, and danger. Dillon brings a warm eye to people living through change. Questions of home and belonging run beneath the romance: where do you stand when the world around you no longer stands still?
What you’ll discover
- A town at a crossroads Enter St. Louis as the Louisiana Purchase changes who rules the Mississippi valley.
- Love against a changing world Follow a romance set against a larger shift in the life of a frontier town.
- The river's restless pull Discover a Mississippi frontier where the movement of goods and news also brings danger.
- Questions of belonging Consider what home means when a place changes hands and loyalties come into question.
- A warm human view Enjoy an old-fashioned romance with a steady eye for people amid historical change.
Who will love it
Readers who love a dashing hero, a spirited heroine and a plot of chases, balls and disguises, and anyone curious how St. Louis, Washington and Paris were tied together by the Louisiana Purchase.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A tumble down the stairs starts a feud
- A secret, a picnic and the whippoorwill call
- Christmas and New Year soften two proud hearts
- A midnight ride, a wounded dog and a pretty boy
- Washington: a farmer on a muddy road
- Paris, a bargain and a hiding place
- The Consul's sentence and a flight by moonlight
- The flags change over St. Louis
- What the book is really about
- How the story is told
Who’s who
- The narratorA tall, curly-haired young Philadelphian with a love of fine clothes and soldiering, who longs for adventure and wins the heart of a proud French girl.
- PelagieThe spirited ward of Dr. Saugrain, called the Rose of St. Louis, who is secretly of royal blood and must choose between duty, freedom and love.
- Captain William ClarkeThe calm frontier soldier and brother of General George Rogers Clarke, who comes to St. Louis to settle debts and guides the narrator.
- Dr. SaugrainA small, witty French emigre and scientist who guards Pelagie like a daughter and trusts the two Americans with her safety.
- Chevalier Le MoyneA handsome, scheming Frenchman who tries to carry Pelagie away and later pursues the narrator through Paris.
- YorkeThe captain's enslaved servant, a cheerful and cunning man who grins at danger and saves the day at Rock Spring.
- Black HawkA tall Sac chief who respects Captain Clarke, watches over Pelagie and warns the narrator of treachery.
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The Rose of Old St. Louis
by Mary Dillon · 1904
A young Philadelphian, a scornful French ward and a quarrelling Bonaparte meet where St. Louis becomes American.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What happens when a proud young man tumbles down a staircase on top of a huge mastiff, in front of the prettiest girl on the frontier? In The Rose of Old St.
The Rose of Old St. Louis at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 5 min6 h 25 min fast, 9 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 115,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1904by Mary Dillon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A tumble down the stairs starts a feud
The story is told by a rosy-cheeked young Philadelphian who dreams of life as a soldier of fortune. He travels down the Ohio and the Mississippi with Captain William Clarke, bound for St. Louis. He wakes at Cahokia weak from fever, hating his girlish curls and fearing the laughter of the young women below.
Then a great mastiff named Leon bounds down the hall, and man and dog roll down the polished staircase in a heap. The dog springs at him, and he strikes the beast with the flat of his blade. A girl in pale satin throws her arms around the dog and calls him a brute. Her name is Pelagie, and he answers with icy courtesy before storming out.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1904
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Dillon, Mary. The Rose of Old St. Louis. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-rose-of-old-st-louis.
Dillon, M. (2026). The rose of old St. Louis. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-rose-of-old-st-louis (Original work published 1904)
Dillon, Mary. The Rose of Old St. Louis. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-rose-of-old-st-louis.
@book{dillon2026rose,
author = {Dillon, Mary},
title = {The Rose of Old St. Louis},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-rose-of-old-st-louis},
note = {First published 1904}
}
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What is The Rose of Old St. Louis about?
It follows a young Philadelphian who travels to St. Louis just before the Louisiana Purchase. He falls in love with Pelagie, a French girl whose enemies want to carry her off, and his path takes him to Washington and Paris.
Who is the Rose of St. Louis?
She is Pelagie, the ward of Dr. Saugrain, a beauty admired by half the young men in the village. Pierre Chouteau calls her the Rose of St. Louis after the narrator toasts the fairest lady at Government House.
Is The Rose of Old St. Louis a true story?
It is a novel, but Mary Dillon says its history is faithful to the records. The speeches of Congress and of Bonaparte, Marbois and Livingston come from accounts of the time, while the love story and the narrator are invented.
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