Anna by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Tags

French invasion of Russia, napoleon

Anna is the first in a trilogy commonly referred to as The Kirov Saga and is the story of Anne Peters, an Englishwoman forced by circumstances after her father’s death to take employment as a governess. Her latest position takes her to Paris in 1803, where she meets Count Nikolai Kirov, a Russian diplomat who was a friend of her father. Her employers take umbrage at this friendship and she leaves their employ and finds herself stranded in Paris, that is until Nikolai offers her a position in Russia as governess to his children in St. Petersburg.  Once there, Anne (now called Anna Petrovna), settles in and comes to love the children, but she also secretly loves the very much married Nikolai – and could it be that he loves her as well? 

Unable to keep her passion for Nikolai hidden, Anne finally makes a break from the Kirovs and begins a new life in Moscow, but she soon finds that great wealth doesn’t always buy happiness.  Nikolai eventually returns from Paris and returns to Anna’s life, although Napoleon’s invasion of Russia definitely throws a kink into any happiness our pair of lovers might hope to find…

This is one of those books that is too complicated to try to put into summary and you don’t want me to spoil it for you anyway. Anne’s story takes her from St. Petersburg, to a nail-biting search for a lost child high in the Caucasus Mountains (oh, that Cossack prince of hers), to Napoleon’s invasions of Moscow ending with a harrowing view of the French army’s retreat from Russia as they search for Nikolai’s run-away daughter.

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow

I really enjoyed how the author set her scenes, everything came to life and I felt like I was in another century (which is exactly where I want a book to take me to). Since Anne is a governess much of the first half of the book involves her day-to-day life and interactions with the Kirovs and their children, so if you need a heroine dodging silver bullets and leaping tall buildings with a single bound this might not be the book for you, but if you like your sagas big and fat with a heavy dose of soap opera I’d definitely consider giving this one a whirl. The final two books in the trilogy are Fleur and Emily and I’ve already placed my hold at the library for book #2. 4/5 stars.

One request if any publisher decides to re-issue this one, puhleeeze get an editor in there and fix those typos will you?

The Place of Stones Constance Heaven

Tags

france, historical fiction, historical romance, napoleon

A game of cat and mouse

Emma Tremayne’s ne’er do well father suddenly decides to up take her on a pleasure trip Paris – but is it just for pleasure? Napoleon rules as First Consul and plans to invade England. Emma and her father are eventually detained by the French authorities along with several other English visitors, but her father manages to escape and he disappears entirely. Emma is rescued by Lucien de Fontenay, and he brings her to his family’s estate in Provence masquerading as governess to his younger brother, but even this quiet country estate soon begins to be a hot bed of spies and counter spies and Emma finds herself in the midst of a plot to kidnap Napoleon. Who can she trust? Lucien who she’s fallen in love with? Her father who still has quite a few secrets up his sleeve?

This was an easy, enjoyable read that had me guessing at most of the mysteries until the end and I never knew for sure who were the good guys and who was on the dark side. Emma was a clever enough heroine with just the right amount of spunk without going over board, and thankfully no sign of TSTL syndrome. This novel is very similar in style to Victoria Holt’s romantic suspense novels, from the heroine in peril not knowing whom to trust, the first person narrative and even a brief stint in Cornwall. Just right for a rainy afternoon.