Book Review - Andrea Penrose's A Swirl of Shadows
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2022
Format: Kindle, 358 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
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Arianna has lost her baby. She didn't even know if she'd be able to conceive therefore it felt like a miracle. A very short lived miracle. A fortnight after their adventures in Paris she miscarried. The words of her friends and medical professionals fell on deaf ears when they told her it wasn't her fault. She gave Sandro hope of an heir and she failed him. She has lost her edge, her spark, her fire. She sits in darkened rooms claiming to be working on her book of recipes but really she is dwelling on her past, on her future, and on her letting Sandro down. Lord Grentham hopes to lure her out of her depression. Tsar Alexander has requested Arianna's help. A medallion has gone missing. But this is more than just a medallion, the Rurik Medallion is a talisman symbolizing a Tsar's right to rule Russia. If the Tsar doesn't have it with him for an upcoming event his reign will be cursed and he will be ousted. Yes, Arianna feels bad for the Tsar, but that doesn't mean she's going to drag herself far from home into the depths of a Russian winter. That is when Grentham plays his trump card. He thought she'd refuse so he sent her brother instead. She is furious. How could he send her innocent brother into the Byzantine bowels of Russian court intrigue!?! Especially once she learns that the Orlov family is still making a power play despite her killing whom she viewed was the worst of the lot. Still, Arianna needs peace and quiet, it's only when a Russian Baroness, Anna-Maria Gruzinsky, is brutally murdered with Arianna's name and address on a slip of paper in her reticule that Arianna decides she must go to Russia. Sandro and Sophie are obviously coming as well, and Grentham has saddled them with Arianna's old comrade Wolffy, as well as a new acquaintance, Major Prescott, who is half Russian and they might not be able to trust him. But Arianna feels a fire in her belly despite the cold surrounding her. She will keep the Tsar appeased, she will befriend his new religious guru Mrs. Schuyler, she will find the medallion, and she will keep the power structure stable in Russia in order to preserve Britain's most important alliance. But will the fire in her belly bring back her spark or do her actions bely the fact that her life is irreparably changed?
There's a trope in historical fiction that I don't much care for. That's when an active heroine blames herself for a miscarriage due to her lifestyle. In most fictional cases, sure, there is sometimes a direct cause and effect, and women do need to mourn, even fictional ones, but the blame game gets to be too much. My problem is that it's overused and, particularity in this case, Arianna's past medical history would indicate that she might not be able to carry a baby to term so it was more expected. Only time will tell if she can have a baby. Therefore I was kind of dreading an entire book about Arianna trying to find her spark, which of course she does, but thankfully because of the time lapse we join our heroine at the end of her deep mourning just in time for her to go to Russia more to prove to herself that she can than any other reason. Now THIS is why I loved this book. Russia! And all things you expect from a classic Russian tale, dubious rulers, dodgy mystics, deranged religious leaders, with more than a dusting of snow. Ah Russia. You are in my bones, literally, if it wasn't for Doctor Zhivago I wouldn't exist. Over the eighteen months or so I've been watching old Masterpiece Theatre series while I exercise. One of my favorite, hands down, was Anna Karenina. It brought the world of Russia to life the same way A Swirl of Shadows did. This felt like a great Russian classic and I never wanted it to end. Andrea Penrose captured St. Petersburg and it's court perfectly. I didn't realize until I got to the note at the end of the book that she had spent considerable time there. Well, it showed. After you read a lot of historical fiction you get a feeling as to who knows what they're talking about and who is passable with minimal research. Andrea Penrose knows what she's talking about. There's a verisimilitude that I haven't found in many writers, especially when if comes to capturing historical figures. And as for the medallion MacGuffin? Sure, it's note real, but it feels like it should be. The whole idea of it is very Russian, much like poisoning your enemies and killing ideologues. Mrs. Schuyler should be glad she got out when she could!
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