Sashenka - Hardcover

Montefiore, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 059305637X ISBN 13: 9780593056370

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2008

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

'Gripping from start to finish with a wonderful heroine. The perfect mix of sweeping history and page-turning storytelling'
-- Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth

'Gripping...moves you to tears' -- DAILY EXPRESS, 4 July08

'Intensely moving and gripping, with an unforgettable climax that will touch the hardest heart' -- Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans

'Intricate, fast moving...so powerfully and persuasively set out that, by the time I finally put the book down, long after midnight, I was in tears'
-- THE TIMES, 14 June 2008

'The acclaimed historian of Russia sweeps the brittle high society of pre-Revolutionary St Petersburg, the terror-chilled jails of Stalin's purges and the secrets of 1990s Moscow archives into a tragic panorama.'
-- THE INDEPENDENT, TEN OF THE HOTTEST BOOKS THIS SUMMER, 25 July 08

'This completely addictive story offers an authoritative insight into Stalin's USSR and, in its huge characters and epic amibition, carries echoes of Tolstoy himself' -- DAILY MAIL, 4 July08

'To write a good historical novel you have to recreate that world, both physically and intellectually - and there must be a sense that history is driving the plot forwards. Montefiore succeeds on all counts' -- EVENING STANDARD, 9 June 2008

'a compelling novel of passions and secrets, politics and lies, love and betrayal, savagery and survival'
-- SAGA, July08

'a heartbreaking tale of passion, betrayal and an unthinkable decision' -- IN STYLE, Aug08

A furiously readable novel - it's hard to put SASHENKA down. SASHENKA is a brilliantly-plotted novel which brings home with unique intimacy the joys and hopes of Russian families, the Revolution, the horror of the Thirties - and a new generation's penetration of KGB files....

Montefiore has a scholar's knowledge of Russian history but he lets his knowledge serve the tale and become part of the texture. The glory and tragedy of Sashenka's story remains long after the last page is read -- Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List

From the Publisher

Sashenka is a historical novel about three women who live very different lives in 20th century Russia - but you don't have to be interested in history to enjoy this novel; you don't even have to be particularly interested in Russia. If you like big sweeping stories that encompass passion, life, death and a long-kept secret you'll love SASHENKA. If you enjoyed The Island by Victoria Hislop, or Captain Corelli's Mandolin or Birdsong, you'll love SASHENKA. This is a book that transports you to a different world where you can see the snow falling on the streets of St Petersburg and hear the sleigh-bells ringing; it is a book in which you think you know what happened - but you really, really don't. It was a very interesting book to edit and publish because it showed me things about Russia and Stalin I had no idea of. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed working on it!

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 059305637X
• ISBN 13: 9780593056370
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 544