Books with author Yelena Shmulenson

From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black, a sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young womanOne of Entertainment Weekly's Must-Read Books of Fall 2017A PopSugar Favorite Book of 2017St. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.

A young Russian woman comes into her own in the midst of revolution and civil war in this "brilliant" novel set in "a world of furious beauty" (Los Angeles Review of Books).After the loves and betrayals of The Revolution of Marina M., young poet Marina Makarova finds herself alone amid the devastation of the Russian Civil War -- pregnant and adrift, forced to rely on her own resourcefulness to find a place to wait out the birth of her child and eventually make her way back to her native city, Petrograd.After two years of revolution, the city that was once St. Petersburg is almost unrecognizable, the haunted, half-emptied, starving Capital of Once Had Been, its streets teeming with homeless children. Moved by their plight, though hardly better off herself, she takes on the challenge of caring for these orphans, until they become the tool of tragedy from an unexpected direction. Shaped by her country's ordeals and her own trials -- betrayal and privation and inconceivable loss -- Marina evolves as a poet and a woman of sensibility and substance hardly imaginable at the beginning of her transformative odyssey.Chimes of a Lost Cathedral is the culmination of one woman's s journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century -- the epic story of an artist who discovers her full power, passion, and creativity just as her revolution reveals its true direction for the future.

From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black, a sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young womanSt. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.

From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black comes this sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young woman.St. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.

The story of The Revolution of Marina M. continues in bestselling author Janet Fitch's sweeping epic about a young woman's coming into her own against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. After the events of The Revolution of Marina M. , the young Marina Makarova finds herself on her own amid the devastation of the Russian Civil War---pregnant and adrift in the Russian countryside, forced onto her own resourcefulness to find a place to wait out the birth of her child. She finds new strength and self-reliance to fortify her in her sojourn, and to prepare her for the hardships and dilemmas still to come. When she finally returns to Petrograd, the city almost unrecognizable after two years of revolution, the haunted, half-emptied, starving Capital of Once Had Been, she finds the streets teeming with homeless children, victims of war. Now fully a woman, she takes on the challenge of caring for these civil war orphans, until they become the tool of tragedy from an unexpected direction. But despite the ordeal of war and revolution, betrayal and privation and unimaginable loss, Marina at last emerges as the poet she was always meant to be. Chimes of a Lost Cathedral finishes the epic story of Marina's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century---as a woman and an artist, entering her full power, passion, and creativity just as her revolution reveals its true direction for the future.

Born to a Russian family of lower nobility, Xenia is a passionate and tender dreamer who cares little for social conventions. A free spirit, she unexpectedly falls in love with the dashing Andrei, a handsome soldier with the Imperial choir and a favorite of the empress. Though husband and wife are devoted to each other, their perfect happiness is overshadowed by the petty demands of life at the royal court, and by Xenia's growing obsession to have a child--a desperate need that is at last fulfilled with the birth of a daughter. Yet Xenia is far from content. Fearful for her family, she is certain that tragedy will strike--a terrible prediction that comes true when the baby dies and then Andrei suffers a fatal fall. Shattered, the sensitive twenty-six-year-old woman withdraws into grief, undergoing a profound transformation that radically alters the course of her life. Turning away from family and friends, she begins giving away all of her money and possessions to the poor. Then, one day, she mysteriously vanishes. Years later, dressed in the tatters of her dead husband's military uniform and answering only to his name, Xenia is discovered tending the paupers of St. Petersburg's slums. Revered as a soothsayer and blessed healer to the downtrodden, she is feared by the royal court and it's new empress, Catherine, who see her deeds as a rebuke to their lavish excesses.

The story of THE REVOLUTION OF MARINA M. continues in bestselling author Janet Fitch's sweeping epic about a young woman's coming into her own against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.After the events of The Revolution of Marina M., young Marina Makarova is pregnant and on her own, forced to eke out an existence in the Russian countryside and plotting her escape back to Petrograd. When a train comes to town bearing none other than her estranged husband Genya--now a minor celebrity--and his ragtag agitprop troupe, Marina sees her way out. But on her return to Petrograd, she finds the city not as she remembered it. Ravaged by two years of revolution, it is a lawless place of brigands and orphans, and Marina must take desperate measures to protect herself and her child.From the beloved bestselling author of White Oleander, CHIMES OF A LOST CATHEDRAL is the sweeping, bold, and unforgettable story of a young woman's finding her strength and forging her own path amidst some of the most dramatic and devastating upheavals of the last century.

The story of THE REVOLUTION OF MARINA M. continues in bestselling author Janet Fitch's sweeping epic about a young woman's coming into her own against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.After the events of The Revolution of Marina M., young Marina Makarova is pregnant and on her own, forced to eke out an existence in the Russian countryside and plotting her escape back to Petrograd. When a train comes to town bearing none other than her estranged husband Genya--now a minor celebrity--and his ragtag agitprop troupe, Marina sees her way out. But on her return to Petrograd, she finds the city not as she remembered it. Ravaged by two years of revolution, it is a lawless place of brigands and orphans, and Marina must take desperate measures to protect herself and her child.From the beloved bestselling author of White Oleander, CHIMES OF A LOST CATHEDRAL is the sweeping, bold, and unforgettable story of a young woman's finding her strength and forging her own path amidst some of the most dramatic and devastating upheavals of the last century.

From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black, a sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young woman St. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn. As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.