Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (1850)Christina Robertson (1796–1854) As I prepare for the publication and launch of my second novel, Fortune’s Price, I have taken some time out to read a book I came across recently about the life of the Grand Duchess, Elena Pavlovna (1807 – 1873)(pictured above). Born Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, she was […]
Category: Books
Book Review: A Ransomed Dissident by Igor Golomstock
When I studied 20th century Russian literature some years ago the name of the Russian art historian Igor Golomstock (1929 -2017 ) came up from time to time, but I confess my recollection of him was rather hazy. So I was pleased when his autobiographical work, A Ransomed Dissident, translated by Sara Jolly and Boris […]
‘I dreamed I dwelt in marble halls’*
Recently, ‘Peterskaya Uslada’ (Petersburg Delight) posted pictures on Twitter of the extraordinary marble hall that can be found in the Palace that was owned from 1830 onward by the Kushelev-Bezborodko family (see image above). Although the interior was remodelled in the middle of the 19th century by the son of the first owner, Count Nikolay […]