Book description
When Vavara, a young Polish orphan, arrives at the glittering,
dangerous court of the Empress Elizabeth in St Petersburg, she is
schooled in skills ranging from lock-picking to love-making, learning
above all else to stay silent - and listen.
Then Sophie, a vulnerable young princess, arrives from Prussia as a
prospective bride for the Empress's heir. Set to spy on her, Vavara
soon becomes her friend and confidante, and helps her navigate the
illicit liaisons and the treacherous shifting allegiances of the
court. But Sophie's destiny is to become the notorious Catherine the
Great. Are her ambitions more lofty and far-reaching than anyone
suspected, and will she stop at nothing to achieve absolute power?
Eva Stachniak was born in Wroclaw, Poland, and now lives in Canada,
where she has been a radio broadcaster and college English and
humanities lecturer. Her debut novel,
Necessary Lies
, won the Amazon. com/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and her second
novel,
Dancing with Kings
, has been translated into seven languages.
She lives in Toronto,where she is working on her second novel about
Catherine the Great, also to be published by Doubleday
