Kate Moira Ryan

The four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II await their fate following the Russian Revolution. While they are waiting for someone to rescue them or kill them, they spend time rehearsing Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard to perform for their parents, and to pass the time. Their other main activity is sewing "candy" (smuggled jewels) into their summer corsets. An interesting look at the turbulent period, from the perspective of the more innocent members of the family. The author does not spare the revolutionaries, portraying them as brutal and deceitful. She is more kind to the children, but forces them to face the reality of what sort of man their father really was. A work of moral ambiguity that nicely captures the reality that there is rarely a single white hat/black hat dichotomy, and also tells a compelling story.… (mehr)