Lost Roses Author:Martha Hall Kelly It is 1914, and the world has been on the brink of war so often, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnaya, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidants. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a ... more »lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia: the church with interior covered in jewel mosaics, the Rembrandts at the Tsar's Winter Palace, the famous ballet.
But when Austria declares war on Serbia and the Russian Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortune tellers daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household.« less