Ken Follett
Paperback | Pages: 320 pages Rating: 3.88 | 22589 Users | 1031 Reviews
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| Original Title: | The Man from St. Petersburg |
| ISBN: | 0451208706 (ISBN13: 9780451208705) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Lord Stephen Walden, Lady Lydia Walden, Charlotte Walden, Feliks Kschessinsky, Prince Aleks Orlov, Winston Churchill, Basil Thompson |
| Setting: | London, England,1914(United Kingdom) |
Interpretation During Books The Man From St. Petersburg
My first Ken Follett. Although no pirates are involved, the word “swashbuckling” comes to mind. The story is set in London in the early 1900’s. It’s fiction, but enough real-life characters and events are involved that is has an aura of a historical novel. A Russian anarchist is trying to assassinate a Russian Price, the son of Czar Nicholas. The Prince is in London trying to negotiate an alliance between England and Russia against Germany in what is assumed to be an upcoming war. A very young Winston Churchill is involved in the negotiations. The Prince is staying at the London home of his cousin who married a British Lord. Amazingly, the anarchist used to be her lover back in Russia 17 years ago! And he learns she has a daughter who is 17…. Could it be? The anarchist re-ignites the old flames to earn entrance into the home to try to assassinate the prince. Woven into the story are true historical events. The daughter hears Emmeline Pankhurst speak and joins the suffragette movement. We are given readings from Russian revolutionary pamphlets. Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated near the end of the story.
So we have a fast-moving kind of made-for-TV thriller. The coincidences are astounding. We have several just in the nick-of-time escapes and a brave main character managing to catch and disarm a nitroglycerine bomb.
The characters are well-developed, especially the anarchist, his Russian former lover, and the daughter. But there is little depth to the writing. It’s more like a historical romance than a historical novel. So I’ll call it a fun story and good entertainment.
Photo of Emmaline Pankhurst from theguardian.com
Photo of the author from ken-follett.com
Identify Based On Books The Man From St. Petersburg
| Title | : | The Man From St. Petersburg |
| Author | : | Ken Follett |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 320 pages |
| Published | : | June 3rd 2003 by NAL (first published April 1st 1982) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Thriller. Mystery. Suspense |
Rating Based On Books The Man From St. Petersburg
Ratings: 3.88 From 22589 Users | 1031 ReviewsCriticism Based On Books The Man From St. Petersburg
Clumsy.Clumsy in its account of class, suffrage, politics, relationships.Clumsy in its telling. Every paragraph should have begun Coincidently or ConvenientlyNot for me.Ken Follett is a a prolific writer--not as prolific as James Patterson, but pretty close. Although prolific, Follett does not miss details or historical minutia. In this book, the Earl of Walden is convinced by Winston Churchill and King George to broker an alliance with Russia in 1914. Germany is creating swords out of plowshares and war appears eminent. It is crucial that Russia align itself with England.The Earl of Walden's wife is from Russian aristocracy and her past is linked with a
This is the second book I read from Follett and it changed my view on the world. It also changed my view on reading, authors, and my expectations of a book.Ken can do in few words what few authors can do with many. This story is set in the time of women suffragettes. He creates a passion for polarized people struggling to fulfill their destinies while constrained by the limits of their social and political environment.Exciting thriller--GREAT BOOK!!
I enjoyed this book as I have all of Folletts books I've read. I wouldn't call it literature, but its not pop trash either. Something in between. Follet gives the reader what the reader wants. Its fast paced, character driven, scandalous, juicy. This is the first of his earlier works I've read, and I liked the straightforwardness of it. The simplicity. I'm reading "How to Write a Blockbuster Novel" by Follett's editor, Al Zuckerman, and in that book, Zuckerman includes four complete drafts of
This is your classic Ken Follett blend of history, adventure, thriller and romance. It moves right along entertainingly, but it doesnt do to think about it too much. For example, the Feliks of the book description is Feliks Dzerzhinsky, who was a real person, a major character in the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet government. Some of the things the fictional Feliks does in this story could fit into the real Felikss timeline, but not others, especially at the end of the novel. It made me
Ken Follett spares not an ounce of genius in bringing his characters to life and weaving them together in electrifying narrative. His artistry is one that burdens the reader with sorting the protagonists from the antagonists, enriching each character's complexion and back story with such brio that you may just end up pulling for the whole lot to triumph as the novel winds to a close.The Man From St. Petersburg is of course no exception, with Follett's tried and true, World War era-themed cat and
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