Anna: Book One in the Kirov Saga

This book really captures the feel of early 19th century Russia in a way that no other author I've encountered has managed to do. It's not an original plot - governess falls in love with her aristocratic employer - but the author's treatment of Russia during the Napoleonic era rings true and evocative. The other 2 titles in the Kirov saga (Fleur, Emily) are also worth reading but not as gripping as this one.

I loved this book! I found it two years ago on an obscure back shelf at the local library during the summer, when I was looking for a good book to read. I brought it home after reading the dust jacket, and the first time I read it I was completely engrossed. I couldn't put it down and read the whole 500-something page book in one sitting. I have since gone on to read the other two books in the Kirov Trilogy, but I would have to say that Anna is by far my favorite. For me Cynthia Harrod-Eagles does a wonderful job at bringing the characters to life, weaving their personal struggles with the historical events of the time. As much as I love this book, I would never call Anna a literary masterpiece. Anna is the type of book that you read for pleasure, for the experience that the story gives you, and I must say that the experience is most definitely pleasurable.

This book was moving and interesting, with a cast of rich, well drawn characters that kept me involved in the story. It is the story of passionate, vital people who are caught in the sweep of history and must either endure it or rise above it. If Gone With the Wind had been set in Russia, this would have been it. I truly enjoyed it.