The Mystery of Olga Chekhova - Softcover

Beevor, Antony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143035967 ISBN 13: 9780143035961

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2005

Synopsis

In his latest work, Antony Beevor--bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Battle of Arnhem and one of our most respected historians of World War II--brings us the true, little-known story of a family torn apart by revolution and war. Olga Chekhova, a stunning Russian beauty, was the niece of playwright Anton Chekhov and a famous Nazi-era film actress who was closely associated with Hitler. After fleeing Bolshevik Moscow for Berlin in 1920, she was recruited by her composer brother Lev to become a Soviet spy--a career she spent her entire postwar life denying. The riveting story of how Olga and her family survived the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, the Stalinist Terror, and the Second World War becomes, in Beevor's hands, a breathtaking tale of survival in a merciless age.

About this title

Review:

A fascinating spy story, a delicious entertainment, and a compelling investigation. (Simon Sebag Montefiore, "Evening Standard")

From the Back Cover:

'An extraordinary drama of exile and espionage'
Boyd Tonkin, Independent

'Compelling . . . as engaging a read as Stalingrad and Berlin' Guardian

Olga Chekhova was the niece of playwright Anton Chekhov and a Russian beauty. She was also a famous Nazi-era film actress, closely associated with Adolf Hitler.

After fleeing Bolshevik Moscow for Berlin in 1920, she was recruited by her composer brother Lev to work for Soviet intelligence; in return, her family were allowed to join her. By 1945, several of them were trapped in Berlin as the Red Army approached; meanwhile, as Olga had appeared in photographs with Hitler and his entourage, the rest of her family in Moscow were waiting to be arrested by the NKVD secret police.

The dramatic tale of how one family survived through the Russian Revolution, the Civil War, the rise of Hitler and Stalin, and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union is, in Antony Beevor's hands, a breathtaking tale of glamour and survival.

It's an extraordinary story of extraordinary times.

'Fascinating. An intricate, gracefully told and often moving social history of a talented family in times of revolution, civil war, dictatorship and world conflict' Rachel Polonsky, New Statesman

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0143035967
• ISBN 13: 9780143035961
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336