Red winter is the Russian revolution seen through the eyes
of a young woman; Sophie. Privileged and of Russian and English descent her
life is to be changed forever. We see her growing from a naive teenager, head
over heels in love with Tolya, an idealistic and serious man, into a rather
formidable woman. She is not afraid to make difficult choices and rather heroic
when it comes to her husband and family. The historical details are well
researched and form an excellent setting to this story, but it never becomes a
history lesson; it’s all about how the events of the time impact on Sophie and
her family. Very well captured is the changing relationship between Sophie and
her former servants. I enjoyed this well written epic of love, war, revolution
and above all survival.
