Different country Different continent, but retaining the Welsh characters. Enjoyed it more than I was expecting Tom WilliamsAuthor 21 books29

I received a copy of this from the Historical Novel Society for review. Only after I got it did I realiser that Catrin Collier and I share a publisher. I mention this in the interests of full disclosure: it doesn't disqualify me from reviewing her book.

In 1869 Tsar Nicholas invited a Welshman to develop mining and ironworks in Ukraine. John Hughes brought with him Welsh miners and iron-workers. They built a new city on the Ukrainian steppe: Hughesovka (now Donetsk).

It was a huge project, and Collier's account is on a similarly mammoth scale. The Tsar's Dragons has 552 pages and is the first volume of a trilogy. It is more family saga than history, although there is a lot of historical detail, which certainly reads convincingly. There were some points where I stumbled (could a photographer then have taken a candid "snap" without the subjects being aware?), but I was more worried about social attitudes. Whilst anti-Semitism and the abuse of women are realistically (and sometimes graphically) portrayed, almost all the characters are noble and liberal, with just a couple of `baddies' for contrast. Theirs seem 21st-century attitudes transplanted to 19th-century Russia. The repressive nature of the regime is not mentioned, although we are reminded that the serfs had recently been emancipated. Whilst Nicholas did start to liberalise Russia, things here are progressing so well that the Russian Revolution seems unnecessary.

The modern attitudes of the characters make the primitive conditions of life in the Welsh mining villages and the cruel realities of living and mining in Ukraine both even more horrifying by contrast. Collier is unsparing in her descriptions of beatings and rapes, and her account of a mine collapse is gripping. all family sagas, this has its share of passionate love and illicit liaisons, much of it setting up a situation which should make the second volume satisfyingly dramatic.

If you family sagas and want to learn more about an unexplored bit of 19th-century history, this is for you. Mel1,191 8

This was so good, although I was close to giving up near the beginning. Initially I found this dry and difficult to get my head around all the characters, but as the novel progressed their lives and stories intertwined wonderfully. This was a no holds barred historical fiction novel; brutally describing working conditions, the emigration, and even the beating and rape of a 12 year old girl. But all in all, an amazing novel. Ania494 9

Bardzo dobra ksi??ka z histori? Rosji w tle. Wielow?tkowa opowie?? o budowaniu nowego miasta, ale tak?e relacji mi?dzyludzkich, to?samo?ci, akceptacji i zrozumienia dla inno?ci. Niejednoznaczne sytuacje prowadz? do nieoczywistego zako?czenia, które równie dobrze mog?oby by? pocz?tkiem powie?ci. Mam ochot? przeczyta? kolejne ksi??ki tej autorki. Polecam serdecznie wielbicielom beletrystyki historycznej.favorite kindle-ebook Dawn93

Autor del comentario:
=================================