This is a well-paced historical novel with excellent character development. It provides a window into the ways of being in England and Russia in the times of change (1913 to 1920). ( )

This is an outstanding historical novel which takes place in England, France and Russia during the 1st World War and the Russian revolution. Alice is an intelligent, well-educated and free thinking young woman living in London with her parents and attending London University in the pre war years. Alice meets Edward cobb, an eligible eldest son of a baronet, at an avante-guard party in Chelsea in 1913. They fall in love and plan to marry despite hostility from his family but when Alice's father, a progressive publisher, is charged with publishing an obscene book, the marriage is off. Alice is pregnant, unknown to Edward and she accepts the offer of a Russian minor aristocrat to go to Russia to be the governess of his children. I won't say more about Alice's life in Russia other than it is a fascinating story rich in historical detail and high drama. ( )