The Jewel of St. Petersburg

June 28, 2010
Beginning in the lead-up to the Bolshevik uprising, Furnivall's sure-to-please prequel to her successful The Russian Concubine centers on Valentina Ivanova, the daughter of a minister in Tsar Nicholas's crumbling regime. When revolutionaries bomb her father's home, leaving her sister crippled and her world uncertain, Valentina must search for her path in life: should she submit to the unloving arranged marriage her controlling father wants, or should she pursue her scandalous (for noble ladies) dream of becoming a nurse? To complicate matters, Valentina falls for Jens Friis, a Danish engineer who is politically moderate, intensely passionate, and completely off limits. Furnivall skillfully intertwines historical fact with a heartfelt love story and ends where Russian Concubine picks up. This will be a delight for Furnivall's fans, and equally a joy for those new to her work.

Starred review from July 1, 2010
It is the glittering final days of the Russian Empire. Though the aristocracy shines as brightly as ever, political unrest rumbles through St. Petersburg, bringing the encroaching tide of revolution ever closer. Against this thrilling backdrop Furnivall goes back to the beginning, to tell the story of Valentina Ivanova and Jens Friis, parents of Lydia Ivanova (heroine of "The Russian Concubine"and "The Girl from Junchow". Valentina is a member of the aristocracy, the daughter of a bankrupt top government official, torn between duty to her family and duty to herself. Marry the wealthy son of a count, the man of her father's choosing, to save the family's finances? Risk all to marry a working man, a Danish engineer, the man she loves? Or will the impending revolution, with its promise of social and personal obliteration, destroy them all regardless? VERDICTGripping, elegant, and fierce, this is a classic war-torn love story, and Furnivall's best yet.—Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2010
In this prequel to her debut novel, The Russian Concubine (2007), about White Russian Lydia Ivanova, Furnivall focuses on Lydias mother, Valentina, during the years leading up to and including the Russian Revolution of 1917. When Bolsheviks bomb her familys country estate in 1910, crippling her younger sister, Katya, 17-year-old title character Valentina is left with guilt and resolve. With a slim frame but steely character, she defies both convention and her father, who is the czars minister of finance, first by training and working as a nurse and then by refusing to marry for money (in order to solve the familys financial problems). Instead, she chooses the man she loves passionately, Dane Jens Friis, the czars engineer. Through the years, her hatred grows for Viktor Arkin, a Bolshevik leader once in the Ivanovas employ who develops an emotionally complicated relationship with the family. Furnivall portrays a country in dreadful conflict, with the grinding poverty of the masses fueling rebellion against the privileged classes. A must for readers of The Russian Concubine and Furnivalls The Red Scarf (2008).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)