Eva Stachniak

Riveting... Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material... The real core of Stachniak's tale is that [Catherine and Elizabeth] are women... Casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly what  historical fiction should do

A wonderful novel, riven with intrigue and startling details, the sort to savour on a long winter evening

The kind of big busty read that sends you back to the history books

Extraordinarily absorbing... will have you on the edge of your seat

A wonderful tale of the  Imperial Russia court in all its glittering glory. Eva Stachniak vividly brings to life the early years of  the meek young bride who would become the terrifying, fascinating Catherine the Great

Kate Williams, author of England's Mistress and Becoming Queen

Fantastic, bold, colourful, assured and wonderful writing - and what a story! An outstanding book, magical, beautiful with writing as crisp and fine and breathtaking as a Russian winter

Manda Scott, author of the Boudica trilogy

Luxuriant... baroque and intimate, worldly and domestic, wildly strange and soulfully familiar

A whirlwind saga of intrigue, shifting allegiances and illicit liaisons, this engrossing story really captures the imagination

A wonderfully majestic and evocative tale of 18th century Russia at a key moment in history

An intensely written, intensely felt saga of the early years that shaped the 18th century's famous czarina, Catherine the Great. Her survival in the treachery of the Russian court was an amazing feat, and Eva Stachniak captures the fluidity and steeliness that propelled Catherine from a lowly German duchess to one of the towering figures of the century

Karleen Koen, author of Through a Glass Darkly

A riveting reconstruction of a crucial era in Russian history… shows iconic figures of the period as real people

Covering the twenty years that turned Catherine the Great from a young bride on approval to the legendary Empress of Russia, Eva Stachniak's novel gives a magical insight into the hopes and fears that haunted the corridors of the St Petersburg palace. It brings alive the very tastes and textures of the mid-eighteenth century

Sarah Gristwood, author of Arbella and The Girl in the Mirror

An intimate portrait of 18th century girl-power

A novel of the young Catherine the Great

When Vavara, a young Polish orphan, arrives at the glittering, dangerous court of the Empress Elizabeth in St Petersburg, she is schooled in skills ranging from lock-picking to love-making, learning above all else to stay silent - and listen. <br/>
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Then Sophie, a vulnerable young princess, arrives from Prussia as a prospective bride for the Empress's heir. Set to spy on her, Vavara soon becomes her friend and confidante, and helps her navigate the illicit liaisons and the treacherous shifting allegiances of the court. But Sophie's destiny is to become the notorious Catherine the Great. Are her ambitions more lofty and far-reaching than anyone suspected, and will she stop at nothing to achieve absolute power?

Eva Stachniak

Praise for The Winter Palace

Riveting... Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material... The real core of Stachniak's tale is that [Catherine and Elizabeth] are women... Casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly ...

A wonderful novel, riven with intrigue and startling details, the sort to savour on a long winter evening

The kind of big busty read that sends you back to the history books

Riveting... Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material... The real core of Stachniak's tale is that [Catherine and Elizabeth] are women... Casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly ...

A wonderful novel, riven with intrigue and startling details, the sort to savour on a long winter evening

The kind of big busty read that sends you back to the history books

Riveting... Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material... The real core of Stachniak's tale is that [Catherine and Elizabeth] are women... Casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly ...

A wonderful novel, riven with intrigue and startling details, the sort to savour on a long winter evening

The kind of big busty read that sends you back to the history books

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