Zoia's Gold: A Novel [Hardcover]

Philip Sington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2006

Drawing faithfully on Madama Zoia's actual correspondence and on accounts of her early life, Zoia's Gold tells the story of a remarkable woman and her bewitching world.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this gorgeously written novel of suspense, which shifts between contemporary Sweden, czarist Russia and 1920s Paris, Sington uses the life of actual Russian-born painter Zoia Korvin-Krukovsky (1903–1999) as a puzzle—and fractured mirror—for the fictional Marcus Elliot, a British art dealer living in Sweden whose career is scuttled by his role in a scam importing undervalued icons. Commissioned to write a catalogue for an exhibition of Zoia's luminous paintings (gold leaf over gesso), Elliot becomes seduced across time by his subject, believing Zoia holds the key to the suicide of his Swedish-born mother. Sington beautifully captures the raw Baltic winter as Elliot delves into Zoia's correspondence, trying to determine whether her "Crimean" paintings are lost, destroyed or his own fevered fantasy. Elliot is unsure whether his work for another art dealer is part of a legitimate retrospective of Zoia's oeuvre or preparation for an illegal auction that will violate the old woman's will. Readers will come away intrigued by Korvin-Krukovsky and the cross-cultural conundrum Sington so elegantly constructs. Under the pseudonym Patrick Lynch, Sington has coauthored six thrillers. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A solo effort for Sington, who with Gary Humphreys writes fast-paced thrillers under the Patrick Lynch pseudonym, this "psychological detective story" is a decided change of pace. Told through flashbacks and letters, this novel is loosely based on the real-life story of Madame Zoia, a Russian artist who was raised among the young royalty of the Romanov court. The enigmatic Madame Zoia dies in her Swedish country home in the winter of 1999, leaving behind a collection of her signature works painted on gold leaf as well as an assortment of letters and other private papers. Marcus Elliott, a former art dealer in disgrace from a black-market antiquities scandal, is hired to write the catalog for the sale of her paintings. As he begins to investigate her papers, he becomes mesmerized by her intriguing personal life: her privileged upbringing among the czarist nobility, dramatic escape from the Bolsheviks, artistic endeavors in the Bohemian Paris of the 1920s--not to mention her complex and varied love affairs. As Marcus uncovers her secrets, his growing obsession with her life and loves begins to have a strange effect on his own life. Mystery and suspense readers will find this slow going, but others may find it engrossing historical fiction. Michael Gannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (November 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743291107
• ISBN-13: 978-0743291101
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,802,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Sington was born in Cambridge, England. His father was an industrial chemist, and his mother an officer in British Intelligence. After graduating in history from Trinity College, Cambridge, he worked as a business journalist and magazine editor for nine years, specialising in coverage of Spain and the Spanish-speaking world.

Teaming up with mystery writer Gary Humphreys, he co-authored six novels under the joint pseudonym of Patrick Lynch. Focusing on developments in the fields of medicine and biotechnology, these prescient and intricately-researched novels sold well over a million copies worldwide. The third, Carriers, was adapted for the screen in 1998 and broadcast coast-to-coast by CBS, as well as internationally.

Other titles were developed for the screen by BBC Drama (The Annunciation) and Universal Studios (Omega). He also co-wrote the stage play Lip Service, which premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London in 2000 and was awarded 4 stars by The Scotsman at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival.

His first solo novel, Zoia's Gold, was published by Atlantic Books (UK) in 2005 and by Scribner (US) in 2006. His next novel, The Einstein Girl, will be published by Harvill Secker in August 2009. To date his work has been translated into a total of nineteen foreign languages. He lives in London with his German wife, Uta and their son, Leo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 4, 2007

By 

CGP - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zoia's Gold: A Novel (Hardcover)

Elegantly written and exhaustively researched, this is a cracking read: atmospheric, original and increasingly pacey as it goes on. The fact that Madam Zoia was a real person adds verve to the tale. The Paris part of the story is a highlight, but the whole last third of the book is an absolute delight.
As a PS: after I had devoured the novel, I did some Internet research and found some great photogrpahs and background information on Zoia.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting biographical fiction, November 22, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zoia's Gold: A Novel (Hardcover)

In 2000 London, art dealer Marcus Elliot is hired to write the catalog on the sale of works by the Russian-born artist Madame Zoia. The "painter on gold" is considered the last known survivor of the Bolshevik Court who died one year earlier in Stockholm. Marcus studies her work and her papers as he learns that the Russian painter Zoia "Madame Zoia" Korvin-Krukovskyas was born in 1903 Russia into an aristocratic family. In 1917, the Bolsheviks incarcerated her as they did any of the aristocracy they captured during the Revolution. A communist admirer got her free with her fleeing to Sweden before going to Paris and ultimately returning to live the rest of her life in Sweden.

This is an interesting biographical fiction work of Madame Zoia who proved you can go home when Yeltsin welcomed a show on her works in Moscow in 1993. The story line is at its best when it focuses on Madame Zoia's life in Paris, North Africa and Sweden whether it is through her letters of Marcus' musings filling gaps of knowledge. A subplot involving Marcus's family is well written, but feels intrusive from the prime theme of ZOIA'S GOLD that of an entertaining portrayal of a fascinating twentieth century artist, the last known living link to the Tsars.

Harriet Klausner

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Exhausting, January 4, 2010

By 

C. Bacon "doxhadawg" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zoia's Gold: A Novel (Hardcover)

If it weren't for the poor writing, this could have been good! The errors of grammar were on every page - and no one is perfect. The editor, on the other hand, should have caught them. In several paragraphs of four or more sentences each sentence began with "He" or "She" and went on to declare something. The pacing was otherwise ponderous with some scenes gratuitous. A few passages had some thought, but all in all I came away exhausted and irritated at the poor use of the English language.