Summary
Summary
Spanning 80 tumultuous years, the incredible story of a peasant girl who become the Red Princess of the Russian Revolution. Anna Mayakovsky is now a penniless old woman living in London, but no one can take away the vivid memories of her past: the Count who lifted her out of poverty; the Count's son, Misha, whose baby she bore; Paul, the ruthless factory owner who became her lover - and her deadliest enemy; Sasha, the tough but gentle peasant who converted her to revolution. And her aristocratic husband whom she adored, but could never love as completely as a woman should love her man. Now Anna finds she has one more battle ahead of her: her great-granddaughters Jennifer and Sonia wish to lock her away in an institution. Anna knows this would kill her. She will have to fight back . . .
Author Notes
Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now lives in Spain and writes full-time. She is an almost fanatical mah jong player.
Reviews (1)
Booklist Review
Departing from her usual British police procedurals, Spencer offers up a sweeping historical saga set in early twentieth-century Russia and featuring a woman, Anna Mayakovsky, who rose from her poverty-stricken peasant background to become a Russian princess and a Bolshevik revolutionary. Told from Anna's perspective as an old woman living in London, the story begins with Anna's difficult early life tilling the land on the Russian steppes. It then moves to the day she was taken into the house of the wealthy landowner who, unbeknownst to Anna, was her natural father. So began the agony for Anna of being torn between a life of luxury and her peasant roots. Anna's story then moves to her first love a man who will later become a fiery revolutionary and her marriage to Prince Mayakovsky, a man who harbors a dangerous secret. Anna's conversion from society princess to Russian revolutionary, allusions to an intriguing life after the Russian Revolution, and her struggles to remain independent in her old age add up to a mesmerizing page-turner that will appeal to fans of historical sagas.--Melton, Emily Copyright 2016 Booklist