Yuri-Review: Leb wohl, mein Rosengarten (engl. title: Goodbye, My Rose Garden) by Dr. pepperco

20 Mar, 2026

Finally coming to the Manga from my Stack I had looked forward to to read the most. Most of what I’ve read so far, be it in Print or digital, fell under Slice of Life-Genre and was in a contemporary Setting. This one is very much solidly situated in the Genre of Historical Romance. It is no Secret, that I am deeply into History, so it will be no Surprise that this Book had me intrigued the Second I found it. While it is set in England in 1900 and my personal Interest admittedly lies about a Century ± a few Decades earlier, I am not one to say no to sapphic Romance in any historical Setting and especially the Belle Epoque can be very nice to look at. So I had no second Thoughts about getting this one.

The Story revolves around the young Woman Hanako, who has left behind a Life as a Teacher in Japan to travel to England to become a published Author and especially to meet her literary Idol, the enigmatic Victor Franks, whom she wants to read her Manuscript. In London she is confronted with a big Hurdle: despite her daily Visits the Clerk at Franks’ Publisher insists on the Secrecy they had contractually promised him and tells her off, that such a talented Author wouldn’t bother to meet her anyway, not to mention read what a Woman has written.
Sitting outside the Publishing House, desperate what to do now that this one Plan she put all her Hopes on is slipping from her Hands, Hanako gets approached by the Noblewoman Alice Douglas, who had witnessed the Situation inside and offers to take her in.
Hanako accepts this Offer and becomes Lady Alice’s new personal Maid. She soon discovers that they share their deep Love for Books and is especially delighted to even find a Book of Victor Franks in her new Mistress’s Library. Prompted by this she asks her, if she might have more Information about him, which has Lady Alice make her a troubling Offer, she gladly will arrange for Hanako to meet her Idol — on the Condition that she kills her.
Hanako eventually accepts, in the Hopes of this allowing her to deter her Mistress’s Plan. Over Time she hears vague gossiping about Alice’s Inclinations, even Rumours about some past Incident and learns that the Reason for her Request is her thinking that ending her own Life is the only way to avoid a Scandal that will hurt her Family and everyone dear to her in a World that has no Place for a „Monster“¹ like her. But nothing of that dispels Hanako’s Loyalty to the Woman who was so generous and kind towards her. Meanwhile her own Devotion and more so the Acceptance of her despite everything let Lady Alice grow increasingly fond of Hanako, who she fears might give her a false Hope for Absolution. To avoid exposing her to the same Rumours she distances herself from her Maid and so a deep Longing for another grows in the two Women, who see each other as kindred Souls.
Meanwhile Lady Alice’s Fiancé, the legal Heir to her Father’s Estate, becomes increasingly wary of Hanako, he even suspects to be a Tool of Revenge for Alice’s former Governess, who had been exiled to Japan after the alleged past Incident, wanting him to drive her away at all Costs…

That was a more elaborate Summary than I had initially planned to write, but the Story contained just so many Aspects that seemed necessary to include to me. In general I really loved it and how it played out so far! The Tone of it is rather serious, even though it has it’s humorous Moments either through Text or Image, and it is very clear that it is supposed to be a somber Drama, more than a lighthearted Lovestory. I am a Fan of either and it does befit the Setting better that Way, so I can not say I would be unhappy about that. In my Opinion it does that very well too, without becoming depressing. A small Criticism I have, is that Hanako going to England to become an Author seems a bit random, at least we don’t really get told if there was a Reason why she could not do that in Japan or if it really was all only to meet her Idol.² But that doesn’t hurt the Story really in my eyes.
I often see People disliking Yuri dwelling on Characters being anxious about both of them being Girls as tedious and overplayed, which I understand to a Degree, but surprisingly this one doesn’t even really do that. What it indeed does is acknowledging the Homophobia of a patriarchal, conservative Society, in Fact I would even say it is a driving Force of the whole Narrative. Even more so at this Point, than the Feelings between Alice and Hanako, whose Romance is merely budding yet. But while Alice is deeply caught up in a Mindset of internalized Homophobia, fuelled by the Society she lives in, it at least feels very realistic for the Circumstances. Hanako on the other Hand has no Understanding for the restrictive Ideas of Love she encounters and it would be interesting to know if that is supposed to be a cultural Matter or if it is more her personal Stance. The former would be a bit surprising, but I just do not know enough about Meiji-era Society to accurately judge that. Either way, both Women’s romantic Attraction to one another hasn’t been that centered yet and I expect this to become more so in the other two Volumes this Series has.
Besides that I absolutely adore the Characters, Alice as this self-torturing melancholic, poetic Heroine and Hanako with her steadfast hopefulness, perseverance and I-can-fix-her Attitude make for a great Pairing and I honestly can not wait for them to get closer and see how their Relationship develops. The Household’s, mostly unnamed, other Maids make for entertaining Background Characters that provide a bit of Comic Relief and I liked the Scenes with them. Alice’s Fiancé acting as an Antagonist stands to Reason, so far he is neither a likeable nor unlikeable Villain though or really a Villain at all in that Sense, just some Guy — whose Intentions might be well-meaning but are incompatible with a good Ending for the Protagonists.
The Artstyle is very appealing, I especially adored what absurd Attention to Detail the Fashion is getting, it really shows that quite a Bit of studying was done on that Part! As mentioned, I’m no Expert on that Period, so I might miss some Inaccuracies, but at least with my rough Knowledge of it this goes well beyond what I would expect in a Manga or Comic, which made it even more enjoyable for me personally. (Small Sideeye for one Instance of a Corset worn without Underwear :p)³ Further than that Architecture, Sceneries, Objects all fit very well into the depicted Period, which helps generate a very concrete Image of a specific Time instead of just using a generic old-timey Setting as a Backdrop.
I also found the individual Chapter covers incredibly beautiful too.

Another Aspect I want to comment on is that the Book itself is really beautifully designed, the Rose-Theme is picked up continuously and it generally has a playfully elegant Style. The Front and Back Cover have some glossy Details in the form of Writing and flying Rose Petals that add really nicely to that.

All in all one of my most liked Manga I read so far, because being a lesbian, historical Drama/Romance with (so far only) tragical Undertones just panders to my personal Taste too much, with the simply gorgeous artistic Execution it leaves little to wish for for me. I’m very confident that I will like the Rest of the (very short) Series, may it develop into a full on Tragedy or a sweet Romance, as the set Expectations — at least to me — promise that it will be done in a satisfying Way either Way. In Fact by the Time I‘m writing this Review I already have bought the second Volume and look forward to delving into that.⁴
This might be the longest Review yet, but there really was a Lot to be said and even then I feel like I‘m not doing it enough Justice and there are a lot more things in it to discover and talk about.