Book Recommendation: Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
Lost Roses (2019) is the latest novel, inspired by true events during the times of World War I , by The New York Times bestselling American author of Lilac Girls and Connecticut resident Martha Hall Kelly. Dolores and I enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend it for your reading list. Click on the links to learn more about the author and her books.
Martha grew up in Massachusetts and now splits her time between Connecticut, New York City and Martha's Vineyard. She worked as an advertising copywriter for many years and raised three splendid children, while researching and writing Lilac Girls, her first novel. She is excited to share the prequel, Lost Roses. - Goodreads
Goodreads Review of Lost Roses
The runaway bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. This sweeping new novel, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I.
It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanov's. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming she fears the worst for her best friend.
From the turbulent streets of St. Petersburg to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian emigre's who live there, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history.
Pictured here are the four daughters of the last Russian Tsar: Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, in an informal photograph in Alexander Palace, Tsarskoe Selo. mid-1900s. The author shared this photograph.
Rose, Kentlands Photowalk, Gaithersburg, Maryland USA
Canon PowerShot G11 Camera
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
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