Set in the tense weeks preceding the outbreak of World War I, the narrative centers on a high-stakes diplomatic mission in London. Rear Admiral Prince Orlov of Russia arrives to negotiate a secret naval alliance with the British government, represented by Lord Walden. However, the mission is jeopardized by Feliks Kschessinsky, a Russian anarchist who travels to England with the sole intention of assassinating Orlov to prevent the military pact. The situation complicates when Feliks’s past connection to Walden’s wife, Lydia, emerges, pulling their daughter Charlotte into a web of political violence and radical ideology.
Readers of historical espionage and political thrillers will find this book a detailed study of the pre-war social hierarchy and the desperation of revolutionary movements. It appeals to those interested in the logistical realities of early 20th-century statecraft and the chaotic nature of individual radicalism. The reader walks away with a clear understanding of the friction between the landed aristocracy and the burgeoning anarchist movements that sought to dismantle the European order before the first shots of the Great War.
Insights from The Man from St. Petersburg
Walden is terrifying because he has everything to lose. He turns into a different person when his family safety is at stake.
“I am a man who has died and come back to life.”
Feliks believes his mission justifies any blood on his hands. It is haunting how logic can turn a man into a ghost.
Lydia is trapped by the secrets she kept for twenty years. Those choices from her youth eventually burn her whole house down.
Charlotte starts out so innocent and sheltered. Watching her political awakening feel like a loss of safety was the hardest part.
- Published
- 1982
- Language
- EN
