The Rose Bargain

Tough, stubborn, and inelegant, Ivy is the daughter of the Marquess of Townshend and the protagonist of The Rose Bargain. She is described as the “bravest, the most daring, the most fun” (281) compared to her sister Lydia. Ivy enters the contest to marry Bram because her family is struggling financially, and she also wants to repair their reputation, which has been destroyed by Lydia’s disappearance. At first, because of her inexperience with romance and intrigue, Ivy doesn’t think she can win Bram over. These insecurities cause Ivy to feel guarded and to compete with the other debutantes; she doesn’t believe that they will become friends.

However, over the course of the novel, Emmett teaches Ivy to kiss and dance, improving her chances of winning Bram over. She also learns to love the other debutantes and to support them. After completing the competition, Ivy visits her childhood home and thinks, “I feel so different from the girl I was when I last stood in this spot” (325). She has been transformed by Mor’s trials and Bolingbroke’s etiquette lessons, as well as by her love for the other debutantes and for Emmett. Near the end of the novel, Ivy bargains with the queen, opting to forget Emmett in order to marry Bram; this bargain costs her a tooth.