10th August 2017, Corgi Children's, 400 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Content: includes a bit of violence and unrest, lots of danger
Summary from Penguin
Russia, 1916.
Nina Ivanovna’s world is in turmoil. Her only hope is to travel to St Petersburg, to escape the past and find a future.
Stefan Kolodin is a medical student – young and idealistic, he wants change for Russia and its people.
Amidst
the chaos of a city in revolt, their lives collide. And a stormy
relationship develops . . . full of passion and politics.
But soon
Nina is drawn in to the glamorous, lavish lives of the Russian royal
family – where she begins to fall under the spell of their mysterious
monk, Grigory Rasputin. The ruby-studded dagger he carries – beautiful
and deadly – could save her and Stefan from a cursed life
. . . or condemn them to it.
Nayu's thoughts
It's a real pleasure to be the first stop on Theresa's blog tour for The Rasptin Dagger - be sure to check out the other stops!
So I'm a bit
biased because I've enjoyed some of Theresa's other books, and jumped
at the chance to review this because I like the romantic but not in
the love type of romantic notion that Princess Anastasia survived the
horrific end to the Romanovs. Before you yell at me for spoiling the
book, I haven't. I'm simply stating history, that the Russian royal
family were murdered. For a time there was hope that at least one
princess, Anastasia, somehow survived, and I think there were
imposters for her, but, unlike both the Disney version and my romantic
notion sadly that wasn't true. Nonetheless I love to pretend she did
somehow survive, which is why I love the last few Romanovs and said yes to review this tale.
 |
| I found this picture of them in cute sailing outfits online. I'm happy believing they are all together now, happy and safe in the next life, though not with Rasputin. |
Admittedly I received the book on a day
when I wanted a happier read, so I said to myself I'd read alternate
chapters of this and a hilarious book. Didn't read a single chapter
of the guaranteed funny book until I'd finished this one. Theresa has
woven her magic again! Everything felt so real (probably because some
of it was). Rather than keeping Nina away from the royal children,
Theresa finds an ingenious way of letting her be in the thick of
it-she gets to live with them! I was so happy when that happened, I
enjoyed getting to know the sisters better, and love their special
language which gets used until the end of the book. I love how
genuinely they needed their ill brother to be happy, although their
mother's obsession with Rasputin was annoying, more so because I know
that was true.
The mystery of the daggers was intriguing, although
part of me wanted them figure more prominently at the end (saving
Anastasia and her sisters from their fate)-but sadly that's not what
the dagger is for. I was minorly annoyed there wasn't an epilogue,
because of how the story ends, so maybe Theresa will do a sequel (no matter how short) as I
want to know more about Nina! She makes firm friends with unlikely
characters, she knows her mind, she is compassionate and loves helping
others (most of the time, she has a few selfish moments). Her love of
life overtakes the darker elements of the story which I wasn't keen on
but managed to get through. I thoroughly enjoyed learning what life was like at this point in history, how hard it was but how resiliant the women could be (those who Nina lives with, not a certain royal queen). Be sure to add this to your book collection-its now
on reread shelf!
Find out more on Theresa's website.
Suggested read
Check out all of Theresa's books including the first one I ever read, The Nostradamus Prophecy, by Theresa Breslin (Young Adult, 10E/10E
The role of Russian Folk Tales in The Rasputin Dagger by Theresa Breslin
I grew up in a house which was
overflowing with books.
Many
of these were collections of Folk and Fairy Tales; magical and mysterious
stories from many lands. I imagined myself as a brave adventurer battling my
way through thick forests, meeting talking animals, answering riddles and
overcoming all obstacles in my path. Traditional Tales are perennially popular
and have enormous power. They reflect our deepest fears but also our hopes and
aspirations. They also show that actions have consequences, and it seemed a
natural step for me to weave Russian Folklore into my latest historical novel The Rasputin Dagger.
The Bear features frequently in
Russian folklore: e.g. The Bear and the
Old Man’s Daughter: The Bear, the
Dog, and the Cat, but the most popular tale is that of Masha and the Bear.
Photo: Theresa Breslin Books – Russia Wooden toy bear: ©Scarpa
The Rasputin Dagger is set in St
Petersburg and Siberia between 1916 -1918, before, during, and after the
Russian Revolution, ending with the murder of the Tsar and his family. Nina,
the daughter of a Storyteller, meets Stefan, a medical student, in the midst of
a city in revolt. Their lives collide and a stormy relationship
develops, full of passion and dangerous politics. But then Nina becomes
entangled in the lives of the Romanovs and of the strange and threatening faith-healer
Grigory Rasputin. To comfort the Tsar’s son, Alexei (who suffers from haemophilia) Nina tells him a version
of Masha and the Bear.
Einstein
is credited with saying: “If you want
your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be
more intelligent, read them more fairytales.”
Although
a young boy and often in pain, Alexei is aware of layers in the story. Towards
the end of The Rasputin Dagger when
Nina visits - and is trapped with - the doomed family, she comforts Alexei by
telling him another tale of the Masha and Bear. As they await their terrible
fate Alexei asks her about the hidden truths of folk tales... and the
significance of the Bear. The story within the
story giving insight into the landscape, the history, the people, and the heart
of Russia.
I
hope you enjoy reading The Rasputin
Dagger and I’d love to hear back from anyone interested in folk and fairy
tales.
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