Russia

[Divia]

The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson
The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander
Rasputin's Daughter by Robert Alexander
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
The Tsar's Dwarf by Peter H. Fogtdal and Tiina Nunnally
Snow Mountain by Catherine Gavin
The Summer Day is Gone by R.T. Stevens
The White Russian: A Novel by Tom Bradby
Zoya by Danielle Steel
YA: The Curse of the Romanovs by Staton Rabin

[annis]

Evelyn Anthony's Romanov trilogy:
1) Imperial Highness, about Catherine the Great's rise to become Empress of Russia
2) Curse Not the King, about the conflict between Catherine the Great and her son Peter as they fought each other for control of the Imperial throne
3) Far Flies the Eagle, about the battle between Catherine the Great's grandson Czar Alexander I and Napoleon

Edward Rutherfurd's "Russka", a novel in the "overview' multi-generational style
covering several centuries

"The White Guard" by Mikhail Bulgakov, follows the struggles of a middle-class family in St Petersburg during the civil war that followed the revolutionary events of 1917.

[Melisende]

Peter Morwood
~ Prince Ivan
~ The Firebird
~ The Golden Horde

[Ash]

Madonna of Leningrad; while I loved the concept of someone giving a tour of an empty museum by using their memory of each piece, I thought the book itself was not that well written. But many folks loved it.

Oh and its not HF, but it sure read like a novel: Nicholas and Alexander by Robert Massie. His sequel which looked at the DNA evidence, was well done but not nearly as wrenching as this one.

[Leyland]

One of my all time favorite romantic historical novels is Evelyn Anthony’s Valentina. I’ve read it a couple times and will read it again when I reclaim it from the ‘closeted keepers’ box.

Valentina is a Polish countess married to the cruel and ambitious Count Grunowski who schemes with other Polish leaders to use her to spy on the French at the point where Napoleon is planning to invade Russia. The Poles want to determine their ally, France’s, real intentions for Poland’s independent future and choose espionage to these means.

In order to coerce her into the seduction necessary for successful espionage, the Polish plotters threaten to arrest Valentina’s half-sister Alexandra, a Tatar princess. Plans go awry and both sisters are thrown into danger and adventure that involves new love when they are found out and then taken under the protection of French spies and officers. Valentina's love story is one of my favorites.

The winter retreat from Moscow is superbly covered in this novel and not every character has a happy ending. Anthony has done a terrific job.

Reviewers at Amazon have posted some good stuff, so if interested please check them out, although I believe there are major spoilers in the first one.

http://www.amazon.com/Signet-Book-Evelyn-Anthony/dp/0451085981/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219933208&sr=1-33

[Margaret]

There's a nice review of The Madonnas of Leningrad at http://www.HistoricalNovels.info/Madonnas-of-Leningrad.html by one of my guest reviewers, Sue Gillmor.

[diamondlil]

Madonna of Leningrad; while I loved the concept of someone giving a tour of an empty museum by using their memory of each piece, I thought the book itself was not that well written. But many folks loved it.



I had issues with this book as well. It was interesting but there were some pretty big plot holes as well.

I'll post my review.

[donroc]

The Seven That Were Hanged and other stories by Andreyev
We by Zamyatin at precursor of 1984
Short stories by Isaac Babel
The Don Trilogy by Sholokov
One of my favorite long short stories/novellas is Dostoyevsky'sThe Gambler

[Cuchulainn]

If this thread is about historical fiction set in Russia, then:
Rutherfurd's Russka

If it's just about really great Russian writing, then I offer the following as a non-exhaustive, stream of consciousness list of fiction:
-Everything by Dostoevsky including Crime and Punishment, Brothers Karamazov, Notes from Underground, the Possessed and the Idiot, but not so much White Nights

-Lermontov "A Hero of Ourt Time"

-Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" and "Rudin"

-Gogol - "Dead Souls" and the "Overcoat"

-Biely - "St. Petersburg" and "the Dramatic Symphony"

-Goncherov's "Oblomov" is horribly boring (maybe, in this respect, its the perfect marriage between subject matter and use of medium) but you kind of have to read it

-Bulgakov "The Master and Marguerite"

-Boris Pasternak: "Doctor Zchivago" (which has little, if nothing, in common with the movie)

-Tolstoi: "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" - the reason people groan at War and Peace is because they think it's just a really long novel that a lot of people have spoken about, but fail to realize it is as brilliant, and perhaps more so, than the greatest symphony by Beethoven, in that it is able to sustain it's thesis for its entire duration, even down to the most seemingly innocuous interplay between characters. And here's a cheat - this is what War and Peace is all about (I noted the thesis on the book mark I used when I read the book):

The combination of causes of phenomena is beyond the grasp of the human intellect. But the impulse to seek causes is innate in the soul of man. ANd the human intellect, with no inkling of the immense variety and complexity of circumstances conditioning a phenomenon, any one of which may be separately conceived of as the cause of it, snatches at the first and most easily understood approximation, and says here is the cause. In historical events, where the actions of men form the subject of observation, the most primitive conception of a cause was the will of the gods, succeeded later on by the will of those men who stand in the historical foreground - the heroes of history. But one had but to look below the surface of any historical event, to look, that is , into the movement of the whole mass of men taking part in that event, to be convinced that the will of the hero of history, so far from controlling the actions of the multitude, is continually controlled by them. It may be thought that it is a matter of no importance whether historical events are interpreted in one way or in another. But between the man who says that the peoples of the Wast marched into the East, because Napolean willed they should do so, and the man who says that the movement came to pass because it was bound to come to pass, there exists the same difference as between the men who maintained that the earth was stationary and the planets revolved about it, and the men who said that they did not know what holds the earth in its place, but they did know that there were laws controlling its motions and the motions of the other planets. Causes of historical events - there are not and cannot be, save the one cause of all causes (Cuchulainn - that is to say, God, or, in the language of Aristotle, and keeping in line with the trope, the "Prime Mover") But there are laws controlling these events; laws partly unknown, partly accessible to us. The discovery of these laws is only possible when we entirely give up looking for a cause in the will of one man, just as the discovery of the laws of the motions of the planets has only become possible since men have given up the conception of the earth being stationary. (Part Thirteen, Chapter 1, first paragraph)

[annis]

I put off reading "War and Peace" for years, thinking it would too demanding, and rather daunted by its size, though come to think of it that shouldn't have been a consideration as it took me no time at all to charge through Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"! I think it was just an excuse for intellectual laziness.
When I did get started on WAP I absolutely could not put it down. It is the most amazing book, and I always encourage people nervous about tackling it to make the effort, as it's so rewarding on many different levels. And I loved the ending - no matter how momentous the times and events which you live through, it's all about dealing with life at a personal level, and savoring it moment by moment.

[Juniper]

The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. It's set in Stalinist Russia and is very accurate in it's portrayal of Collectivisation and The Terror. I studyed Stalinist Russia in college, and really wish that this book had been available for me to read at the time. It brought it to life.

[Volgadon]

Aleksander Pushkin- The Captain's Daughter.
Dubrovsky.

Sholokhov- And Quiet Flows the Don (it's not a trilogy, but a single book in two parts).

Leo Tolstoy- Prisoner of the Caucasus.
Hadji Murad.

Nikolay Tolstoy- The Silver Prince.

Nikolay Tolstoy (a different one)- Peter I.

Mikhail Bulgakov- White Guard.
Dog's Heart.
Fateful Eggs.
Extraordinary Adventures of a Doctor.
Ivan Vasilievich.

[donroc]

In the USA, the Don books have been called a trilogy because the two parts of Quiet Flows the Don have been included with The Don Flows Home to the Sea as three volumes. Picky but there it is.

[Volgadon]

But Quiet Flows and The Don Flows are the same book, which is what I ment. Can't understand why they split it into two.

[donroc]

But Quiet Flows and The Don Flows are the same book, which is what I ment. Can't understand why they split it into two.

One of two reasons, which I am guessing.

1. The translations came late for the other parts.

2. Or the American publisher feared a big volume would hurt sales.

Here, nearly everyone in college feared tackling War and Peace because of its large number of pages as well as the confusing for some multiple names of the characters.

[Calgal]

Here, nearly everyone in college feared tackling War and Peace because of its large number of pages as well as the confusing for some multiple names of the characters.

I'm guessing it was fear of the unknown. The long Russian names were hard for me, but the story was so absorbing I was really glad of the book's length--it was one of those I really did not want to end. When you are in college and faced with huge amounts of reading, you do not court long tomes, of course. I'm surprised it was even offered.

I did read Crime and Punishment, which is pretty long, but it is more than good story-telling. It is one of those innovatative novels beloved of lit professors, one a student needs to read to see the progression of the development of the novel, like Joyce or Faulkner and Hemingway or Calvalo.

[donroc]

W&P was assigned in a Great Books course I took at Cal. Several of us entered a challenge who could read and understand it the fastest.

[JMJacobsen]

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

A WWII romance in Leningrad. It's in my TBR pile, but I've heard nothing but good things about this one.

[diamondlil]

One of my Favourite books EVER! Love the whole trilogy.

[Volgadon]

Which trilogy?

[diamondlil]

The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons.

[Alex Worthy]

The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. It's set in Stalinist Russia and is very accurate in it's portrayal of Collectivisation and The Terror. I studyed Stalinist Russia in college, and really wish that this book had been available for me to read at the time. It brought it to life.

Thanks, Juniper. I was looking for some fiction in the Stalinist era. Any other suggestions? Are there any novels where he is a main character? I'm not really big on biographies, but I'm interested (and appalled) by him.

[diamondlil]

He is not the main character, but he is a major player in the final book in the Winston Churchill novels by Michael Dobbs - Churchill's Triumph.

[lama]

I don't really know of any from that era.

You could read the work of his contemporaries maybe--like Zoshchenko.

How about Akunin, a contemporary Russian writer of historical thrillers. Enormously popular in Russia from what I hear.

www.lebutler.net

[Volgadon]

Bulgakov wrote a play called Batum, about the young Stalin and his role in the Batum strike of 1902. Stalin thought it was an excellent portrayal, but banned it because it didn't fit the myth he was creating, of the wise leader. In the piece he is shown as young and human. There was a lot that Bulgakov couldn't put it, but if you read carefully, the real Stalin is quite clear.

[Divia]

Found this on a Alexander Palace forum. They are hardcore fans on there so I'm guessing this novel will be very realistic. It should hit publication in 2011 (but maybe in 10 )

Daughters of the Tsar - A Novel by Sarah Miller

OTMA is a novel, told from the four grand duchesses' point of view, and covering the years between 1914 and 1918.

[Alaric]

I hope we start seeing more novels set in other periods in Russian history soon. Just about every new novel set in Russia is set during the revolution.

[Divia]

Agreed. The Russian novels we are starting to see reminds me of the HF with the Tudors. Its overshadowing everything else. And lets be frank here...Russia has a very rich history of very interesting rulers.

[Volgadon]

Actually, I really wouldn't mind seeing more HF about the revolution, but enough with the Romanovs' last days already!

[Ludmilla]

An unusual one about the waning days of the Revolution is The People's Act of Love by James Meek. I think it made the Man-Booker Prize Long List for 2005.

One of the summaries describes the novel this way:
Set in Siberia in 1919, this is the story of a small Christian sect and a stranded regiment of Czech soldiers. Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, a gulag escapee, whose arrival throws them into turmoil.


Worth checking out if you like philosophical novels that ponder uncomfortable questions about human nature (and fanaticism).

[Volgadon]

I just hope that they don't use the term GULAG in that book.

[EC2]

The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons.

I started reading the first one but gave up because it sounded way too modern to me. I didn't wall-bang though in case it was my mood and it's still on my TBR. Many people I know and with reading tastes I share absolutely love this novel, so it's waiting in second chance alley.

[Alex Worthy]

An unusual one about the waning days of the Revolution is The People's Act of Love by James Meek. I think it made the Man-Booker Prize Long List for 2005.

One of the summaries describes the novel this way:


Worth checking out if you like philosophical novels that ponder uncomfortable questions about human nature (and fanaticism).


Thanks, Ludmilla. I like philosophy with history.

[diamondlil]

Vulpes Libre are having a Russian Revolution week this upcoming week.

Click here (http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2008/10/19/coming-up-this-week/) to check out the list of posts that are going to be posted during the week.

[Kelly Hewitt]

Hey ya'll. I have been on a real Russian historical fiction kick and you've given me some very good ideas.

I did just conduct an interview with Kate Furnival, author of The Russian Concubine and her brandnew novel The Red Scarf/Under a Red Blood Sky. We chat about her discovery of her family's Russian heritage, the research she's done for her new novel AND her announcement that she's just completed the sequel to The Russian Concubine to be named The Girl from Junchow/The Concubine's Secret.

Here is the link to my brand new Kate Furnivall Interview! (http://www.loaded-questions.com/2008/12/kate-furnivall-loaded-questions-with.html) Do read and feel free to leave your comments. Are you looking forward to the new book?

Kelly Hewitt
Loaded Questions (http://www.loaded-questions.com)

[theredsoldier]

My own book, "Snow and Steel", a story about a squad in Stalingrad during WWII.

[Misfit]

Just finished this one yesterday and thought I'd mention it. Set around 1919 in the far north during the conflicts between the Whites and the Reds. MC is British engineer/officer sent to a remote outpost to keep the rail lines clear and rebuild a damaged bridge. The first half was a bit slow, but the final bits when the allies pull out and they must get to safety via that rickety old rail line is quite harrowing.

[Misfit]

The Bronze Horseman (http://www.amazon.com/Bronze-Horseman-Bonus-Material-ebook/dp/B004T4OMUM/ref=pd_sim_kinc_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2) is currently on Kindle for $1.99.

[The Czar]

I put off reading "War and Peace" for years, thinking it would too demanding, and rather daunted by its size, though come to think of it that shouldn't have been a consideration as it took me no time at all to charge through Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"! I think it was just an excuse for intellectual laziness.
When I did get started on WAP I absolutely could not put it down. It is the most amazing book, and I always encourage people nervous about tackling it to make the effort, as it's so rewarding on many different levels. And I loved the ending - no matter how momentous the times and events which you live through, it's all about dealing with life at a personal level, and savoring it moment by moment.

I read this post a couple days ago. I too always put off reading this. I've had a copy sitting on my shelf now for 15 years or so. Well, you convinced me. I started reading it and am now 150 pages in, and loving it. Thanks!

Also, someone asked about Stalinist era HF? I read a great trilogy in college in that era. They are out of print though...

Here is a link to the first one. If you can find them, they are excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/Children-Arbat-Anatoli-Rybakov/dp/0517063247/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305858418&sr=8-1

I am trying to write a HF novel (may end up having to be a trilogy) set during the reign of peter the great. His life is such an amazing story, with such a rich setting, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no HF set in the period. Between the Streltsy revolt, the toy regiments, the azov campaign, the great northern war, the building of petersburg, marrying a peasant, and sort of executing his own son, I think it could be great, if I can write it well enough.

[Margaret]

peter the great. His life is such an amazing story, with such a rich setting, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no HF set in the period.

Alexei Tolstoy (not the author of War and Peace, who was Leo) wrote a novel about Peter the Great, published in two volumes in 1929 and 1934. And I'm pretty sure I read a novel about Peter the Great when I was a teen (late 1960s or early 1970s), which would not have been the Tolstoy novel, because it was shorter. You're right, though, that there's not much, and that his story is amazing. Definitely time for a good, new novel about Peter.

[The Czar]

Alexei Tolstoy (not the author of War and Peace, who was Leo) wrote a novel about Peter the Great, published in two volumes in 1929 and 1934. And I'm pretty sure I read a novel about Peter the Great when I was a teen (late 1960s or early 1970s), which would not have been the Tolstoy novel, because it was shorter. You're right, though, that there's not much, and that his story is amazing. Definitely time for a good, new novel about Peter.

Hmm... ill have to check the tolstoy novel out. Thanks!

[annis]

@The Czar
Glad you're enjoying War and Peace, especially seeing you started reading it on my recommendation!

[annis]

Recently noted, thanks to Ariadne's Reading the Past (http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2011/08/bits-and-pieces.html) blog, that Linda Holeman (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/linda-holeman) has a series in the works described as "'Anna Karenina meets Downton Abbey', and set in 1861 Imperialist Russia in the aftermath of the Emancipation of the Serfs, a sweeping tale of how the political turmoil of the country affects one landowner's family". Publication date tentatively given as spring 2012.

Linda Holeman does the epic historical pretty well- I enjoyed Linnet Bird and Moonlit Cage, so this could be fun.

[Misfit]

Thanks Annis. Glad it is just in the works and not something I have to worry about reading now :p

A couple of recent finds awaiting me on the pile, both start in the late 1800's and through the revolution.

The Longest Winter Daphne Wright
A Daughter of the Nobility by Natasha Borovsky

[Misfit]

Uh oh (http://www.goodreads.com/series/66273-von-glassman). Telynor don't look :eek:

These sound promising and my library has the first book so I'm going to give it a whirl.

[Divia]

Recently noted, thanks to Ariadne's Reading the Past (http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2011/08/bits-and-pieces.html) blog, that Linda Holeman (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/linda-holeman) has a series in the works described as "'Anna Karenina meets Downton Abbey', and set in 1861 Imperialist Russia in the aftermath of the Emancipation of the Serfs, a sweeping tale of how the political turmoil of the country affects one landowner's family". Publication date tentatively given as spring 2012.

Linda Holeman does the epic historical pretty well- I enjoyed Linnet Bird and Moonlit Cage, so this could be fun.

This sounds VERY interesting!

[The Czar]

I just read a great Russian setting novel. Its The Snow Leopard, by Daniel Leston (self published for kindle).

Its a great action/revenge type story. Russian nobleman is betrayed as a child, ends up a Mongol slave, becomes a full mongol, returns to Russia with the Mongol invasion, has a choice to make... very very good.