Vanora Bennett Knihy

The Taste of Dreams is both a quest for the romantic Russia of the author’s dreams, and a tale of amazement as she discovers and gets caught up in the new, anarchic Russia emerging from its Soviet constraints. At its heart is the story of caviar—beluga, the rarest type of sturgeon, harvested from the Caspian Sea. It is now an endangered species, and no one knows how to—or wants to—stop the plunder. Intelligent, funny, and enormously engaging, this is a modern tour through the intricacies of the new Russia. Vanora Bennett writes for The Times of London and is a former Moscow correspondent for Reuters and the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of Crying Wolf: The Return of War to Chechnya.

The year is 1527. Hans Holbein is at the beginning of his career when he travels to England under the patronage of Sir Thomas More. As a guest in the splendid More household, he begins to paint their family portrait. The Holbein family portraits frame this story with its background of love, family, and political turmoil.

"St. Petersburg, 1911: Inna Feldman has fled the pogroms of the south to take refuge with distant relatives in Russia's capital city. Welcomed by the flamboyant Leman family, she is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. She feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle, but revolution is in the air, and as society begins to fracture, she is forced to choose between her heart and her head. She loves her brooding cousin, Yasha, but he is wild, destructive and devoted to revolution; Horace Wallick, an Englishman who makes precious Faberge creations, is older and promises security and respectability. And, like many others, she is drawn to the mysterious, charismatic figure beginning to make a name for himself in the city: Rasputin. As the rebellion descends into anarchy and bloodshed, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she choose to take with her? And is it already too late? A magical and passionate story steeped in history and intrigue, Vanora Bennett's Midnight in St. Petersburg is an extraordinary novel of music, politics, and the toll that revolution exacts on the human heart"--

Die junge Seidenhändlerin Isabel hat einen wagemutigen Plan: sie will Englands erste eigene Seidenweberei gründen. Dafür braucht sie einen machtvollen Förderer. Als sie den zukünftigen König Richard III um Unterstützung bittet, wird aus einer geheimen Abmachung eine heimliche Liebe. Während alle Welt Richard als düsteren Intriganten ansieht, erlebt Isabel ihn als Kämpfer für Gerechtigkeit. Aber ihre Liebe wird auf eine harte Probe gestellt. Um die Krone zu erringen, muss Richard einer Prinzessin den Hof machen – und Isabel soll sie in Seide kleiden… Vanora Bennetts historischer Roman ist geschichtlich fundiert und spannend erzählt.