Complete Short Works of George Meredith

A bustling Cologne of the Renaissance is painted with lavish detail, centered on a prosperous merchant‑lender, Gottlieb von Groschen, whose fortunes stretch from vineyard hills to mineral springs. His reputation for generous usury and a curious devotion to the heavens earns him the favor of both the Kaiser and the city’s ambitious youth, while his daughter Margarita becomes the unattainable “White Rose” that fuels local legend.

From this backdrop the White Rose Club emerges—a rowdy band of young burghers who scar themselves in mock battles to prove devotion to Margarita’s beauty. Their scar‑marked faces and scroll‑tied helmets turn the streets into a theater of daring bravado, as each claim to honor is recorded and displayed. The story follows Gottlieb’s attempts to steer his daughter’s admirers, the club’s escalating contests, and the tangled web of pride, commerce, and fleeting affection that grips a city poised between tradition and ambition.