Josephine Lawrence (1897-1978) began her career as a journalist and then switched to writing books for children. She later branched out into adult fiction. Rosemary is a story written for girls. The character of Rosemary appears later in Rainbow Hill and Rosemary and the Princess. Rainbow hill is a book about a family. An excerpt reads, "In Rosemary, leaning above her mother and studying the blue prints so intently that a little frown gathered between her arched brows, the spirit and strength were united. The effect of Rosemary on the most casual beholder was always one of radiance. The mass of her waving hair was bronze, said her friends; it was red, it was gold, it was all of these. Her eyes were like her mother's, a violet blue, but dancing, drenched in tears or black with storm--seldom-patient eyes. She lived intensely, did Rosemary, and sometimes she hurt herself and sometimes she hurt others. She could be obstinate--wanting her own way with the insistence of a driving force; that was the Willis would work in her, Winnie said. All the Willis children had that trait, Winnie said also. Rosemary could be sorry and make frank confession. That, Sarah always thought, was the hardest thing in the world to do."