The Rose Code

In December 1939, 21-year-old Mab lives in a small East London apartment with her mother and her four-year-old daughter, Lucy, who passes as Mab’s sister. In her spare time, Mab reads library copies of literary classics “for the Well-Read Lady” and dreams of providing a better life for Lucy (13), whether through hard work or an advantageous marriage.

Also in December 1939, Osla returns to England after a brief stay with relatives in Canada. Upset at Osla’s return, her mother temporarily cuts off her allowance. Eager to prove herself as more than a “silly deb,” Osla works drilling metal sheets for airplanes alongside her friend Sally Norton.

On New Year’s Eve, Osla and Sally enjoy a rare night out in London. Sally sets Osla up with a date who turns out to be Prince Philip, the nephew of Lord Mountbatten, Osla’s godfather. At Philip’s urging, Osla dances in her factory clothes, rather than changing into a dress. While they dance, Osla recounts her childhood, including learning to speak German from her governess. Philip states his desire to fight in the war to end rumors that he is a Nazi sympathizer. At the end of the evening, the two share a kiss.

In June 1940, Mab and Osla happen to sit in the same train compartment. When a man across the compartment ogles them, Osla comments on “the tent in his trousers” (34), and he leaves in embarrassment. Impressed, Mab compliments Osla and introduces herself. They are surprised to discover they share a common destination: Bletchley station.

A short walk from the station, Mab and Osla arrive at a fenced, guarded mansion called Bletchley Park (BP). The lawn is dotted with makeshift huts and overrun with people and activity. As they enter the grounds, a man named Giles Talbot emerges from a swim in the lake and escorts them to Commander Denniston’s office. Denniston tells them they are assigned to work within the Government Code & Cypher School housed at BP and commits them to absolute secrecy in accordance with the Official Secrets Act. Leaving Denniston’s office, Giles clarifies, “We’re breaking German codes” (42).

In the nearby village of Bletchley, 24-year-old Beth and her mother, Mrs. Muriel Finch, prepare for the arrival of two tenants from BP. Beth becomes distracted while examining the spiral pattern of a rose’s petals, and her mother scolds her. Muriel then sends Beth to run errands, referring to her as “Mother’s little helper” (45). At the post office, Beth fails to return the clerk’s small talk. Returning home, she helps her father complete a crossword puzzle, which she thinks of as her “one talent”.

Osla and Mab arrive as the Finch family’s new boarders. At first intimidated by them, Beth softens when she sees that Osla has a copy of William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, which Beth is reading despite knowing that her mother would disapprove.

In November 1947, over three years after she was first admitted, Beth reflects on her time at the sanitarium, where she is registered under the name Alice Liddell. The staff medicate the inmates to keep them docile, but Beth secretly vomits her medicine and plots her escape.

Moments after Mab hung up on her, Osla receives a call, which turns out to be a reporter wanting to talk about Prince Philip. Osla ends the call and decides to visit Mab in person.

In June 1940, Osla is assigned to work in Hut 4 at BP. She thinks often of Philip, who joined the navy. She is disappointed to learn that her work is mostly secretarial. After work, Mab and Osla share their impressions but avoid sharing details, in accordance with the law and BP policy.

On Mab’s first day at BP, she is assigned to Hut 6. Her work consists of typing coded messages into a configurable machine that decodes them into recognizable language. She configures the machine according to cipher keys, which change daily. Cryptanalysts working elsewhere at BP identify the new keys each day.

Two days later, Mab takes some supplies to Hut 6, where she runs into Giles. Seeing that the room is full of well-educated men, she spontaneously announces that she and Osla are starting a book club and invites Giles and his colleagues to attend. A few days later, seeing how Mrs. Finch dominates Beth, Mab takes Beth along with her to the first meeting.

Beth, Mab, Osla, Giles and several others arrive at a local pub for the meeting. Over fish and chips, they discuss books. Scared and intimidated, Beth nearly leaves but first a huge man catches her eye and introduces himself as Harry Zarb. Taking him for an immigrant, Beth compliments his English only to learn that his family, which is of Maltese, Arab, and Egyptian descent, has lived in England for generations. Embarrassed, she turns to a crossword puzzle.

The women return home to an irate Mrs. Finch. Sending Osla and Mab to bed, Mrs. Finch scolds Beth, pinches her arm, and makes her hold up the family Bible for 15 minutes as punishment. Afterwards, Beth overhears Osla comparing her to Fanny Price, the weak protagonist of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.

By July 1940, Osla feels restless, wishing for more challenging work. Mab goes on dates with various men.

One night, Osla and Mab walk home together after a late shift when a car narrowly misses them, causing them to fall by the side of the road. Covered in mud, with one of her shoes broken, Mab reprimands the driver who apologizes and introduces himself as Francis Gray. Mab offers to help him replace his flat tire if he mends her shoes; he agrees. Francis makes an offhand comment that gives Osla the idea of recruiting Beth to work at BP since she is good at crosswords.

In August 1940, Beth is summoned to an interview at BP, where she is hired on the spot, much to her surprise. Dillwyn “Dilly” Knox, a “professorial” man who manages a team of female codebreakers, agrees to try Beth on his team, commonly called “Dilly’s Fillies.” Margaret “Peggy” Rock, another member of Dilly’s team, introduces Beth to their work of cryptanalysis, which involves breaking open raw encoded messages to discover the cipher keys, with new keys every day. Overwhelmed, Beth responds, “I’m too stupid” (96).

Following Beth’s first shift, Osla and Mab overhear Mrs. Finch scolding Beth, as she disapproves of Beth’s work at BP. After Beth joins them upstairs, Osla reveals that she recommended Beth. Angry, Beth tells them to leave her alone.

Over the next few weeks, Beth struggles to learn cryptanalysis, and her relationship with her mother worsens. One night in August 1940, Harry and his friend Alan Turing sit by Beth at a restaurant. Harry recognizes her from the first meeting of the book club, now known as the Mad Hatters Tea Party. When Harry says that Beth must be “brainy,” since she works in Dilly’s section, Beth cries and leaves, feeling inadequate.

During the second half of the night shift, Beth makes a what Dilly calls “the best break we’ve had in ages” (107). Elated, Beth accepts Dilly’s invitation to eat breakfast at his home, Courns Wood, where she meets his wife, Olive Knox, and drinks gin for the first time. Dilly explains that he selects women for his team because they are generally “more flexible, less competitive” than the men (109). He compares breaking codes to playing a game and stresses the importance of lateral thinking.

In September 1940, a package containing a new pair of shoes and a note from Francis arrives for Mab. Arriving at the Finch home, she joins Osla and the family in listening to a radio broadcast announcing the German bombing of London and warning of potential invasion. The next day, Mab runs into Harry, who tells her that his request to enlist was denied since he works at BP, posing a security threat if he were to be captured. Since his work at BP is secret, civilians regularly criticize him for not enlisting.

A few days later, over the telephone, Mab urges her mother to take Lucy out of London; she refuses. That night, Mab worries about the impending invasion. Seeing her distress, Beth blurts out that the invasion was postponed but immediately regrets speaking in violation of the Official Secrets Act.

In November 1947, Osla calls Giles, now her fiancé, to tell him that she is leaving town for a few days. Osla doesn’t really love Giles, but she accepted his proposal shortly after the announcement of Philip’s engagement to Elizabeth.

Within Clockwell Sanitarium, Beth endures humiliations while wondering what Osla and Mab think of her letters, which include the assertion that someone at BP was a traitor who sold information during the war.