The never-before-told story behind one of the best-loved romantic sagas of all time.
Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad in 1963 and left with her family to the United States when she was ten years old wanting to be a writer when she grew up. In 1998, Paullina returned with her father to Russia for the first time in twenty-five years to research her fourth novel, which would become the internationally bestselling THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, a saga of love, betrayal, tragedy, and hope set against the backdrop of World War II.
SIX DAYS IN LENINGRAD: A Memoir (HarperCollins) gives readers a glimpse into the private life of creator and bestselling author, Paullina Simons, and the real story behind her epic novels. It’s an intimate walk through a land where time had stood still. Paullina Simons gives us a work of non-fiction as captivating and heart-wrenching as the lives of Alexander and Tatiana in her sweeping “Bronze Horseman Trilogy.”
“I walked into my dream and kept walking with my Leningrad in front of me and behind me and all around me. I wasn’t carrying Russia with me. It was carrying me.” Paullina Simons, Six Days in Leningrad
After a quarter-century away from her native land, Paullina, and her father found a world trapped in yesteryear, with crumbling stucco buildings, entire families living in communal apartments, and barren fields bombed so badly that nothing would grow there even fifty years later. And yet there were the spectacular white nights, the warm hospitality of family, friends and, of course, the pelmeni and caviar.
At times poignant, at times inspiring and funny, this is both a glimpse into the inspiration behind the epic saga, and a touching story of a father and a daughter.
I haven’t read any books in The Bronze Horseman trilogy, or any of Paullina’s other novels, so I am at a disadvantage when reading her memoir. I can and do appreciate the sheer emotional journey she experienced, and spanning dramatic narrative Paullina shares in her memoir.
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Paullina Simons is an internationally bestselling author whose novels include Bellagrand and THE BRONZE HORSEMAN was born in Leningrad in 1963. As a child she immigrated to Queens, New York, and attended colleges in Long Island. Then she moved to England and attended Essex University, before returning to America. She lives in New York with her husband and children.
Find out more about Paullina at her website, follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on Facebook.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins Books we have one copy of SIX DAYS IN LENINGRAD: A Memoir to giveaway. Just tell us if you’ve ever read any of Paullina Simons many books. We’ll announce a winner Monday.
Have a lovely weekend.
Cindy Reads & Writes 