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1914, 2006: A Russian grand duchess and an English journalist. Linked by one of the world’s greatest mysteries
The Secret Wife
What you need to know before your trail
1914:
Russia is on the brink of collapse, and the Romanov family faces a terrifyingly uncertain future. And tragedy and danger come when Grand Duchess Tatiana falls in love with cavalry officer Dmitri
2016
Kitty Fisher escapes to her great-grandfather’s remote cabin in America to take stock of something she’s just learned. There, on the shores of Lake Akanabee, she discovers the spectacular jewelled pendant that will lead her to a long-buried family secret . . .
Travel Guide
New York
The remote location of Lake Akanabee is small and very isolated. Kitty’s cabin was just off Big Brook Road, which is by the town of Indian Lake in the Adirondacks
Russia
Ipatiev House
The family was imprisoned in Yekaterinburg’s Ipatiev House, which was designated The House of Special Purpose. This no longer exists but is on the spot where this ‘Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land’ now stands
Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo
Cavalry officer Dimitri Yakovlevich Malama recovers from this wounds here when he is 23 and meets Tatianana. He had suffered during the fighting at the front between the Russians and Germans. But he recovers with the care and attention of Tatiana and her sister Olga who alongside their mother are helping to nurse the wounded soldiers. Dimitri and Tatiana spend time together here and start to fall in love
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
What a wonderfully evocative and epic novel. Fancy being transported back to the days of the Russian revolution and the fall of the Romanovs? To see how this story could be linked to a woman in present day New York? This is one epic read you will not regret.
If the impeccable research and evocative detail doesn’t impress you then the story will. I knew very little about the Romanov’s and even if you think Russian history is going to be boring and hard to understand, it’s not at all! This could be the book that changes your mind about just how fascinating and captivating it is.
I’ve been to some places with Gill – The Crimean war fields, on board the titanic and now deep in the heart of the Russian Romanovs. I am in complete awe of the research but the way Gill weaves it all into a captivating story never letting the history get in the way of the captivating plot but enhancing it.
The story itself was heartbreaking and I was deeply moved many times. It’s really clever to merge fact and fiction like this so you’re not sure who is real or not by the end as that just makes everyone sparkle. Like living history – and a great way to start exploring the past. I was right beside Kitty as she delved deeper into her past. And practically in Dimitri’s shoes as his story unfolded piece by piece. It’s a special writer who can put me in the position those who lived during the Bolshevik revolution
It’s hard to explain how emotional I feel after having read this. I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. There’s not many books that you loose yourself in but this is one of mine.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Secret Wife
Author/ Guide: Gill Paul Destination: Ekaterina, New York state Departure Time: Early 1914, 2006
Twitter: @GillPaulAUTHOR Facebook: /gill.paul.16 Web: gillpaul.com
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