Unforgettable as a testimony of personal devotion

Morrison tells a good story, without excess or indulgence, and with touching empathy for his heroine

Immensely readable and entertaining

Morrison writes excellently... As much a story of personal tragedy and disappointment as it is a compelling study of how art and tyranny interact

Meticulously researched

Morrison, who had access to the family and significant archival collections, has produced a gripping story of a young woman’s rise into the highest social and musical circles, her marriage to Prokofiev (whose principal affection was for his music, not his family), and their globe-trotting tours and swelling celebrity. But as the Stalin-led Soviet Union commenced its multiple atrocities and outrages, the Prokofievs’ world shrank, their travels were limited and their futures were tightly circumscribed. Research, compassion and outrage combine in a story both riveting and wrenching.

In the hagiographic hall of fame that is the Russian artist’s wife — Sophia Tolstoy, Anna Dostoevsky, Nadezhda Mandelstam, all muses who stood watch while their men created things of genius, and then who jealously guarded the legacy — Lina Prokofiev is odd woman out. Her story almost cannot be believed, until Simon Morrison gained access to the documents (and the family’s trust) in order to tell it. Biography does not get more important than this.

Powerful feat of research

Bleakly compelling

Immensely readable ... Merridale recounts [the Kremlin's] eventful history with great skill and tremendous narrative verve

Merridale is a historian by training, but she has a detective's nose and a novelist's way with words

As with many important books, the reader will wonder why nothing like Catherine Merridale's work ... has been written before ... Merridale has succeeded in stripping off the veneer... She has the skills to get guardians of secret places talking and to negotiate access with Russian archivists, and thus penetrate the inner workings of the Kremlin. At the same time, she has a feeling for the site that brings dry archaeological and architectural facts to life: few writers can write the biography of a city or a citadel ... The Kremlin's history is likely to be frozen for decades to come. This unique and stunningly well-illustrated book is going to be a definitive study for just as long

Catherine Merridale's sparkling new book shows that it is people who dominate architecture

As usual, [Merridale's] engaging writing style combines a keen eye for detail with a human touch

[A] superb history of the Kremlin ... pages of lucid prose

A thoughtful critique of privacy . . . blows apart our patronising attitude towards the Victorian family

Rigorous and relevant

Pries open the most astounding archives to uncover what our recent ancestors tried to hide

Remarkable, moving and surprising . . . drawing on divorce courts, hospital records and adoption agencies, Cohen debunks many myths

Groundbreaking reporting and character-rich storytelling... Passionately written...almost makes one nostalgic for a time when novels were so important that even the CIA cared about them

A sparkling and fascinating account

Well-paced narrative...of great relevance today, when such conflicts seem (but only seem) to have disappeared.

Immensely compelling

Meticulously researched

The true strength of this meticulously researched book is the placing of the revelations into the context of a compelling human drama

Engrossing

[An] outstanding treasure of literature

Impeccably researched, and moving, this book breaks new ground