Some authors are easily recognizable from their style and regular themes. Others continually surprise you by popping up with novels set in England, then a series set in Russia, and then another tale set in India. How could one author be so adept at weaving believable stories set in foreign lands and at distant times? It’s certainly a gift, and award-winning author Gloria Whelan has graciously shared hers with countless readers.
I’ve been dipping in and out of Whelan’s books for many years now, sometimes reading new ones but often tracking down and rereading old favorites. At the top of the list of books I’ve revisited is her Angel on the Square series, four novels set in Russia and following one family from the Bolshevik Revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union. History and culture go seamlessly together here, as we learn about Russia in the “twilight of the tzars” from the daughter of Empress Alexandra’s lady in waiting. Then, we follow the narrator’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as they struggle through exile, starvation, World War II, and more, never giving up hope that Russia will one day be free of the crushing Communist oppression.
Comments