Overview

Tatiana and Alexander is a powerful story of grief and hope -- a passionate and epic love story from the Russian-born author of The Bronze Horseman. The world at war ...two people in love. Tatiana is eighteen years old and pregnant when she miraculously escapes war-torn Leningrad to the West, believing herself to be a widow. Her husband, Major Alexander Belov, a decorated hero of the Soviet Union, has been arrested by Stalin's infamous secret police and is awaiting imminent death as a traitor and a spy. Tatiana begins her new life in America. In wartime New York City she finds work, friends and a life beyond her dreams. However, her grief is inescapable and she keeps hearing Alexander calling out to her. Meanwhile, Alexander faces the greatest danger he's ever known. An American trapped in Russia since adolescence, he has been serving in the Red Army and posing as a Soviet citizen to protect himself. For him, Russia's war is not over, and both victory and defeat will mean certain death. As the Second World War moves into its spectacular close, Tatiana and Alexander are surrounded by the ghosts of their past and each other. They must struggle against destiny and despair as they find themselves in the fight of their lives. A master of the historical epic, Paullina Simons takes us on a journey across continents, time, and the entire breadth of human emotion, to create a heartrendingly beautiful love story that will live on long after the final page is turned.

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9780007118892

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Praise for Tatiana and Alexander 'This has everything a romance glutton could wish for: a bold, talented and dashing hero, a heart-stopping love affair that nourishes its two protagonists even when they are separated and lost, a long and bitter military campaign, plus personal excavations into the past. It also has -- thank goodness -- a welcome sense of humour and discernable characters rather than ciphers.' Victoria Moore, Daily Mail The Bronze Horseman 'Pulling off the passionate love story embedded in a truly epic narrative is a difficult thing to do. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind remains the blueprint for the genre, while Tolstoy's War and Peace carries off the literary honours ! it's quickly apparent that the Russian-born author Paullina Simons has the measure of this kind of epic romantic saga. The power of her descriptive writing, the vividness of the historical detail and, most of all, the strength of her central characters mark out her novel as a considerable achievement ! she is able to make some powerful statements about the durability of the human spirit, but never at the expense of descriptive passages refulgent with power and beauty' Barry Forshaw, amazon Praise for Tully: Pick up this book and prepare to have your emotions wrung so completely you'll be sobbing your heart out one minute and laughing through your tears the next.! Read it and weep -- literally Company

Praise for Tatiana and Alexander 'This has everything a romance glutton could wish for: a bold, talented and dashing hero, a heart-stopping love affair that nourishes its two protagonists even when they are separated and lost, a long and bitter military campaign, plus personal excavations into the past. It also has -- thank goodness -- a welcome sense of humour and discernable characters rather than ciphers.' Victoria Moore, Daily Mail The Bronze Horseman 'Pulling off the passionate love story embedded in a truly epic narrative is a difficult thing to do. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind remains the blueprint for the genre, while Tolstoy's War and Peace carries off the literary honours ! it's quickly apparent that the Russian-born author Paullina Simons has the measure of this kind of epic romantic saga. The power of her descriptive writing, the vividness of the historical detail and, most of all, the strength of her central characters mark out her novel as a considerable achievement ! she is able to make some powerful statements about the durability of the human spirit, but never at the expense of descriptive passages refulgent with power and beauty' Barry Forshaw, amazon

Praise for Tatiana and Alexander 'This has everything a romance glutton could wish for: a bold, talented and dashing hero, a heart-stopping love affair that nourishes its two protagonists even when they are separated and lost, a long and bitter military campaign, plus personal excavations into the past. It also has - thank goodness - a welcome sense of humour and discernable characters rather than ciphers.' Victoria Moore, Daily Mail The Bronze Horseman 'Pulling off the passionate love story embedded in a truly epic narrative is a difficult thing to do. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind remains the blueprint for the genre, while Tolstoy's War and Peace carries off the literary honours ... it's quickly apparent that the Russian-born author Paullina Simons has the measure of this kind of epic romantic saga. The power of her descriptive writing, the vividness of the historical detail and, most of all, the strength of her central characters mark out her novel as a considerable achievement ... she is able to make some powerful statements about the durability of the human spirit, but never at the expense of descriptive passages refulgent with power and beauty' Barry Forshaw, amazon

Beginning with the misguided defection of an American family to pre-war Soviet Russia, this powerful and moving story follows the lives of Tatiana and Alexander, who meet and fall in love at the outset of the appalling siege of Leningrad. He is a major in the Red Army, she a young and beautiful girl. Circumstances force them apart shortly after their marriage, and the pregnant Tatiana flees to America, leaving Alexander to the grim and sometimes bewildering brutalities of Stalinist Russia. But the faith and love they have in each other carry them through the years and the Second World War, despite the penuries, violence and betrayal that follow Alexander as he fights for a country that seems determined to punish him for his loyalty and courage. Paullina Simons paints a vivid and painful account of the Russian war with Hitler, and fills her narrative with examples of the absurdity and corruption of communist Russia. It is impossible to read this often heartbreaking novel without becoming deeply engaged with the characters and sharing their hardships. The rare moments of ecstatic joy snatched by this indefatigable couple are so intense that they leave the reader feeling almost voyeuristic, although totally involved in this dramatic piece of writing, whose length and breadth will satisfy all devotees of this author and introduce many more to her talents. This is a skilful and intelligently written book that rewards us with a belief in goodness and love, as we emerge with Tatiana and Alexander from the ashes of war-torn Europe, breathless but triumphant. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad in 1963. As a child she emigrated to Queens, New York, and attended colleges in Long Island. Then she moved to England and attended Essex University, before returning to America. She has worked as a financial journalist and translator. She lives near New York with her husband and four children. Visit her website, paullinasimons.com, for more information about her bestselling novels.

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