It was the second finest-promoting children's e-book, with 220 fewer gross sales than author J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Another picture guide, it was illustrated this time by Stacey Peterson. It turned the fastest-selling image guide by a debutant kids's writer. Only one photographer was allowed to take pictures of the event, and only the movie crew from the BBC's children's information program, Newsround, was allowed to movie it. Writing for The Guardian, poet and novelist Michael Rosen found The English Roses to be heavier on the moralistic side somewhat than being ironic, which he felt was the norm for children's books. A subsequent trial attracted nationwide news protection and provoked a congressional investigation, which concluded with Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (and future United States president) Franklin D. Roosevelt being formally rebuked by a Congressional committee. Madonna partnered with Signatures Network Inc. (SNI) and launched a collection of merchandise and merchandise related to The English Roses collection available within the United States at Nordstrom department stores and boutiques.
