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A historical novel about the aristocratic Jussupov family: a fascinating social portrait of the final years of the Romanov dynasty. The Tsar’s court in St Petersburg in 1900: imperial splendour, pleasure-seeking and extravagance proliferate here as luxuriantly as do love, deceit, cowardice and treachery. Prince Felix Jussupov grows up in close proximity to the imperial court. This intelligent and good-looking young man is the darling of Petersburg society. His extravagances are generally admired, except for one – his love for men. After all, he is married to Irina, one of the most beautiful women of the time and Tsar Nicholas’s niece. Although he loves his wife, Felix has an erotic liaison with Dimitry, his boyhood friend. The Tsar is extremely angry about this relationship and insists on Felix being treated by Rasputin, the man who has often saved the life of the fatally ill heir to the throne. A tragedy soon develops between Felix and the healer, with unforeseeable consequences.
About the author:
Asta Scheib, born in 1939 in the Rhineland town of Bergneustadt, has worked as an editor on a variety of journals. In the 80s she published her first novels and is now one of the best-known women writers in Germany. Her biographical novel An Ornament to their House. The Story of Ottilie von Faber-Castell (Eine Zierde in ihrem Hause. Die Geschichte der Ottilie von Faber-Castell).became a bestseller. Hoffmann und Campe have published her biographical novel In the Gardens of the Heart, The Passion of Lena Christ (In den Gärten des Herzens, Die Leidenschaft der Lena Christ) in 2002 (also as an audiobook) and The Oysterman (Der Austernmann) in 2004. She lives with her family in Munich. |
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