by Simon Montefiore (Author)
Winter, 1916: In St Petersburg, Russia on the brink of revolution. Outside the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies, an English governess is waiting for her young charge to be released from school. But so are the Tsar's secret police...Beautiful and headstrong, Sashenka Zeitlin is just sixteen. As her mother parties with Rasputin and her dissolute friends, Sashenka slips into the frozen night to play her part in a dangerous game of conspiracy and seduction. Twenty years on, Sashenka has a powerful husband with whom she has two children. Around her people are disappearing, but her own family is safe. But, she's about to embark on a forbidden love affair which will have devastating consequences. Sashenka's story lies hidden for half a century, until a young historian goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers a heart-breaking tale of passion and betrayal, savage cruelty and unexpected heroism - and one woman forced to make an unbearable choice.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 544
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Bantam Press
Published: 30 Jun 2008
ISBN 10: 059305637X
ISBN 13: 9780593056370
Book Overview: In the bestselling tradition of Dr Zhivago and The Island, an epic story of revolution, passion and betrayal - and one woman whose extraordinary secret lies uncovered for half a century.