The Rosary

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The Rosary, a novel by Florence L. Barclay, was first published in 1909 and quickly became a bestseller, reaching the number one spot in 1910. Barclay, born Florence Louisa Charlesworth in 1862 in Surrey, England, was the daughter of an Anglican rector and had a notable sister, Maud Ballington Booth, a Salvation Army leader. After marrying Rev. Charles W. Barclay in 1881, the couple honeymooned in the Holy Land, where they reportedly discovered Jacob's Well. Settling in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, Florence became a mother to eight children. Health issues in her early forties led her to write her first romance novel, The Wheels of Time. The Rosary, a tale of undying love, followed and achieved remarkable success, being translated into eight languages and adapted into five films. It was recognized as the No. 1 bestselling novel in the U.S. in 1910 and continued to resonate with audiences, leading to a serialization in Sunday Circle magazine over twenty-five years later. In 1926, it was adapted into a three-act play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson. Over her career, Barclay authored eleven books, including The Mistress of Shenstone, which was also adapted into a silent film. She passed away in 1921 at fifty-eight, with a posthumous study of her life published by one of her daughters.