Petersburg [Hardcover]

Emily Hanlon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 1988

The most glittering city. The greatest love story. The passion and paradox of a time when lives were turned upside down by the powerful events surrounding them. Petersburg is a superlative, brilliantly crafted historical novel of imperial Russia swept up in the first great wave of revolution, telling the odyssey of four people.

Alexei Kalinin, the peasant who becomes one of Russia’s richest men, finds that his wealth, power, and obsessive love for Anna Orlova nearly allow him to bury his murky past.

Anna, a magically gifted pianist and sheltered daughter of old Russia, is ill-prepared for the passionate world into which her love for the mysterious Kalinin takes her.

Defiant and sensuous, Irina Rantzau is at home among the most hedonistic pleasure of the court, but chooses instead to embrace the growing rebellion.

Misha Kalinin, Alexei’s nephew and heir, transforms his raw energy and fear of violence into the spirit and determination that make him a true fighter for the people, and a tortured soul.

Particular and powerful passions catapult these four into a strange and different world of blood, betrayal, and rebellion, a world that forces each to face the most bittersweet choice of all.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her first venture into adult fiction, the author of books for children and young adults has produced a hefty historical saga that makes a compelling read. A lush and boldly imagined re-creation of the 1905 "dress rehearsal" for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, it smoothly mixes history and fiction, realism and romance. The principal characters, all participants in revolutionary movements dedicated to the violent overthrow of the czar, are: Alexei, who has risen from peasanthood to become one of the wealthiest men in Russia; Anna, a brilliant pianist and a privileged daughter of the old regime who falls in love with Alexei; Irina, a passionate idealist who deserts the glittering court to fight for the people's cause; and Mishima, Alexei's nephew, a fiery revolutionary in love with Irina. Historical figures depicted with accurate detail include Czar Nicholas II, Trotsky, Gorky and Father Gapon. Other characters are either fictitious or composite portraits based on real people, but all carry conviction and verisimilitude to real life. The scenes in which they take partscenes of passion, plotting, violence in the streets and confrontations with the dreaded secret police, the Okhranasucceed each other at a mounting pace. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In the tumultuous, dissent-filled Russia of 1905, four people become deeply involved in the revolutionary movement to overthrow the Czar and end the pervasive brutality: a handsome, self-made businessman; his nephew; the talented musician daughter of the penniless Count Orlov; and her cousin Irina, also the daughter of aristocratic parents. Sensuous, rebellious Irina is the first to embrace the revolution wholeheartedly. The others are swept into it when Czarist brutalities affect loved ones. All trusts are subsequently betrayed by a power-seeking revolutionary mastermind. In this engrossing work, encompassing the vast human tapestry that is pre-Bolshevik Russia, characters and events spring to life. Hanlon's first adult novel is recommended for most libraries. Literary Guild alternate. Joan Hinkemeyer, Englewood P.L., Col.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 541 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (August 18, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399133747
• ISBN-13: 978-0399133749
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,170,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a novelist, and a writing and creativity coach. I have 8 published books, including the best selling novel, Petersburg, and a book on writing, The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying. I have written all my life, but now my major passion is teaching other how to unleash stories and characters within them, waiting to be born. Writing technique can be taught, but creativity must be unleashed!

I lead writing workshops, teleseminars, writing and creativity retreats and weekends. My website is www.TheFictionWritersJourney.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, although not accurate, July 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Petersburg (Hardcover)

As a Russian-born immigrant to the United States from St. Petersburg, I was very delighted to read about the city that I think is one of the most beautiful in the world. When I found out that "Petersburg" was concerned with the Revolution of 1905 and the event called "Bloody Sunday", with which I am somewhat familiar, my interest piqued. After reading the book, I have to say that I was not impressed. The love story is not entirely believable or very interesting. The supporting characters are more complex but not fully developed. The historical figures, like Czar Nicholas II, are portrayed more or less acurately, although they seem like caricatures and do not fit in. My biggest problems with the book is that many details of people's lives in the early 1900's are not portrayed accurately and are hard to believe. For one, the episode with the flesh-eaters, people who eat human flesh, is arresting but highly improbable. These people ar! e so hungry that they buy human flesh and eat it. A question beckons: If they have the means to buy human flesh, why don't they buy food? Secondly, I have problems with characters' names. One of the characters' name is Anna. Her friends and family call her Annochka. Although that is a legitimate nickname, more likely she would be called Anya, because Anna is too formal. Another character's name is Irina. In the book, she is called either Irina or Irinushka. Although that is plausible, in reality, she would be called Ira or Irochka. My third complaint has to do with values of money. The episode in which Alexei, one of the main characters, offers to give a hag who is selling human flesh 50 rubles for the remains and she asks him for a 100 rubles could not have happened. 50 rubles would have been considered a fortune in 1905. It is more likely that the hag would have parted with the remains for 5 or 10 rubles. Although these might seem like minor d! etails, this book is abundant with these kinds of inconsist! encies. If Ms. Hanlon did not claim that her book was a historical novel and that "many events did occur as shown", (taken out of context from Author's Note to "Petersburg"), I would not have bothered to care about these mistakes. As long as other and future readers realize that many situations are unrealistic and that the dialogue belongs in 1985, instead of 1905, "Petersburg" can be considered an entertaining and sweeping novel.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Total Must Read, September 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Petersburg (Hardcover)

I found this book a total thrill from start to finish and was totally gutted when it came to and end. I took myself there and lived the book, which had the most unpredictable story lines and characters you couldn't stop yourself loving or hating. I could almost feel the snow crunching beneath my feet. This novel had everything, i simply could not put it down. I can only hope and pray that one day it will make it to the big screens, it would be magnifcant.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Petersburg, a sweeping historical novel of love and betrayal, June 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Petersburg (Hardcover)

I found Petersburg to be a real pageturner. I was completely hooked by the plot, couldn't figure out what was coming next, fell totally in love with the characters whom I found breathtakinly real! I felt as if I was really in turn of the century Russia and as an afficionado of Russian history, I was impressed with the historical accuracy of the major events. The love stories were passionate and moving and the scenes of revolution bounced off the page. If you like historical fiction, this is a real winner.