The Love and Wars of Lina Prokofiev

Morrison tells a good story, without excess or indulgence, and with touching empathy for his heroine

Guardian

Immensely readable and entertaining

Amanda Foreman, New Statesman

Morrison writes excellently... As much a story of personal tragedy and disappointment as it is a compelling study of how art and tyranny interact

Stuart Kelly, Scotsman

Meticulously researched

Richard Morrison, The Times

Morrison, who had access to the family and significant archival collections, has produced a gripping story of a young woman’s rise into the highest social and musical circles, her marriage to Prokofiev (whose principal affection was for his music, not his family), and their globe-trotting tours and swelling celebrity. But as the Stalin-led Soviet Union commenced its multiple atrocities and outrages, the Prokofievs’ world shrank, their travels were limited and their futures were tightly circumscribed. Research, compassion and outrage combine in a story both riveting and wrenching.

Kirkus Reviews

In the hagiographic hall of fame that is the Russian artist’s wife — Sophia Tolstoy, Anna Dostoevsky, Nadezhda Mandelstam, all muses who stood watch while their men created things of genius, and then who jealously guarded the legacy — Lina Prokofiev is odd woman out. Her story almost cannot be believed, until Simon Morrison gained access to the documents (and the family’s trust) in order to tell it. Biography does not get more important than this.

Caryl Emerson

Powerful feat of research

Sunday Times

Bleakly compelling

Sunday Business Post