"Beneath its "scandalous" surface, Flavia Alaya's life story goes to the heart of women's struggles for independence, self-definition, and sexual agency."--BOOK JACKET.

"Alaya was twenty-two years old, a vibrant but sheltered young woman on a Fulbright scholarship in Italy, when she met Father Harry Browne. When the attraction that began in a cafe in Perugia became too compelling to resist, they embarked on a love affair that violated the deepest taboos of her upbringing, yet endured for over twenty years. By day, Alaya and Browne were subsumed in community organizing against "urban renewal" on New York's Upper West Side.

By night, they were consumed by a relationship carried on, even through the birth of their three children, in absolute secrecy - sub rosa, or "under the rose.""--BOOK JACKET.

"Alaya and Browne's secret relationship was a passionate physical and intellectual bond between equals that allowed Alaya the space to pursue her ambitions as an activist, scholar, and artist. Above all, Under the Rose is a story of courage and self-discovery - the story of a woman determined, against all odds, to fulfill her own desires and direct her own life."--BOOK JACKET.