When Snow Fell

On the centenary of the Russian Revolution, When Snow Fell introduces us with passion, touching charm and a dose of humour to three generations of a family who fled from the horrors in Russia to Oxfordshire, England.

When Snow Fell is an intimate story of an eccentric family failing to cope with the UK in the 60s, having been accustomed to the glamour and extravagance of Imperial Russia. Woven with vivid flashbacks to the turmoil in Russia, this is an emotional, character-led account of a cultural clash. This book will appeal to fans of heartfelt family sagas with a strong historical twist.

In their Oxfordshire mansion, twins Anna and Antonina try to survive their tempestuous family: their mother Valentina, extravagant financially and sexually; their grandmother Countess Olga, faded in beauty, but shrewd and strong-willed. Money is running out and Olga reluctantly decides to sell the Brodsky family treasure, the Ikon of the Virgin of Kazan. This awakes an old Party leader’s deep-seated grudge, and Vasily Voronov is sent from Moscow to cultivate the Brodskys and to avenge past injustice. The ideologies of Vasily and the family collide, but their shared Russian blood is stronger, and we return to the glittering ballrooms of St. Petersburg and the snowy steppes to discover the long-buried secrets which continue to poison their lives.