Lover, murderer, mother, Tsarina. Memoirs of a Geisha meets Game of Thrones in this page-turning epic charting the extraordinary rags-to-riches tale of the most powerful woman history ever forgot.
Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, before attending L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. Whilst studying for her Msc in PPE she won the Grande École short story competition with her novella Meeting Mr. Gandhi and was encouraged to continue writing. Upon graduating, she worked as a producer and presenter for Bloomberg TV in London. She contributes to in ternational publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and Conde Nast Traveller. Tsarina is her first novel. She lives in London with her husband and three children.
With its sprawling canvas and huge cast ... it’s an entertaining
romp through the endless intrigue, violence and debauchery of court
life
*Mail on Sunday*
A vivid page-turner of a debut
*The Times*
Alpsten’s colourful narrative does full justice to her
extraordinary career
*Sunday Times*
This is the ultimate Cinderella story of an illiterate peasant girl
who becomes the empress of Russia. It makes Game of Thrones look
like a nursery rhyme
*Daisy Goodwin*
Tsarina should come with a health warning- once you start reading,
it’s impossible to stop
*Hannah Rothschild*
Ellen Apsten’s Tsarina brings to life the dramatic life of
Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, and afterwards Empress of
Russia in her own right. She recounts this remarkable woman’s
colourful life and times in the form of a novel, drawing however
throughout on documentary evidence – this proves a highly effective
approach
*Nikolai Tolstoy*
Tsarina is luscious. As detailed as the jewels and enamel inlay on
the creations of Faberge, Ellen Alpsten writes the story of
Catherine Alexeyevna, born poor with a lust for power and riches,
who sets her mind to achieve both, and sets in motion all that will
follow in Russian history, including the reign of Catherine the
Great. You will marvel at this crisp, elegant fictional account of
history, woven with emotion and brio
*Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife*
Luscious: Alpsten has clearly done some brilliant research. It
reads like Game of Thrones without the dragons
*Natasha Pulley*
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