Entertainment · Books & Arts · 8 hrs ago
Jacqueline Rose’s novel links her sister’s life with Edith Stein’s
Jacqueline Rose’s novel Two Women explores the lives of two women: her older sister, philosopher Gillian Rose, and Edith Stein, a German Jewish philosopher.
The novel imagines a connection between the women through alternating chapters and a chronological narrative.
Stein turned from Judaism to atheism before becoming a Carmelite nun and was murdered at Auschwitz in 1942.
Gillian Rose was a sociologist and philosopher who died of ovarian cancer in 1995, aged 48.
She became Anglican shortly before her death, and her memoir Love’s Work later gained classic status.
The novel draws on biography and personal memory, with Stein renamed Esther and Gillian renamed Rosa.
It serves as a memorial to Rose’s sister, while exploring the sisters’ lives and Stein’s path to Catholicism.
Jacqueline Rose’s novel Two Women links the lives of Edith Stein and her older sister, Gillian Rose.
The novel alternates chapters about the two women, drawing on biography and memoir.
Stein was a German Jewish philosopher who became a Carmelite nun and was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942.
Gillian Rose was a sociologist and philosopher who died of ovarian cancer in 1995, aged 48.
The novel fictionalises the sisters as Esther and Rosa, with Clara as Rosa’s sister.
- Who
- Jacqueline Rose, author of Two Women, which links the lives of Edith Stein and Gillian Rose.
- What
- The novel explores the two women’s lives through alternating chapters, drawing on biography and memoir.
- When
- Published on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- The story includes Stein’s life in Breslau and the sisters’ upbringing in postwar west London.
- Why
- The novel explores the lives and connections of Stein and Gillian Rose.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Stein’s father died near Breslau when she was two.
Stein broke off her studies to nurse for the Red Cross.
Stein made her perpetual vows.
Stein was murdered in Auschwitz.
Gillian Rose died of ovarian cancer, aged 48.
Stein was canonised by Pope John Paul II.
- Author
- Jacqueline Rose
- Novel
- Two Women
- Stein’s death
- Auschwitz, 1942
- Gillian Rose’s death
- Ovarian cancer, 1995, aged 48
- Stein’s canonisation
- Pope John Paul II, 1998
What people are saying
Henceforth my only vocation is to love.
for Rosa, childhood was an insult … a waiting room to a more intelligent world