The story is told with narratives of three women, Eliza, from an established, moneyed family in New York, Sofya, from a well to do family related to the Tsar in revolutionary Russia and Varinka, a poverty stricken girl from the Russian country side. While I can’t say that this one gripped me as much as Lilac Girls, perhaps because of the horrors of the Holocaust, it is in its own right a fantastic work of historical fiction, that also is filled with hope and women who made a difference in other women’s lives and I loved everything about it. In this prequel to that book, Martha Hall Kelly portrays the life of Eliza Ferriday, Caroline’s mother and I could see how much Eliza had inspired her daughter. Making it more meaningful, is that it is based on the life of Caroline Ferriday, a woman who gave so much of herself to aid women who survived Ravensbrück. But is not without hope and it is filled with the strength of women who make a difference. Petersburg and aristocratic estates of the countryside to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian émigrés there to the mansions of Long Island, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history.Īs difficult as much of it was to read, I loved Martha Hall Kelly’s first novel, Lilac Girls, a heartbreaking story of the horrific things that happened at Ravensbrück, a concentration camp during WWII where unspeakable medical experiments were conducted on women. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming she fears the worst for her best friend.įrom the turbulent streets of St. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their home. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their estate outside the city. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia: the church with the interior covered in jeweled mosaics, the Rembrandts at the Tsar's Winter Palace, the famous ballet. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St.

It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest.

Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I.

Now, a generation earlier, this sweeping new novel featuring Caroline's mother, Eliza, follows three equally indomitable women from St. The runaway bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the world to the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday.

Lost roses martha hall kelly