"The Lost Season of Love and Snow" is a captivating book that tells the story of Alexander Pushkin, a renowned Russian poet and the father of Russian literature, and his young wife Natalya. The novel is narrated from Natalya's perspective, which is significant, considering that she was often vilified for Pushkin's death in a duel fought over her honor. Natalya was one of the most beautiful women in Russia during that time, and Pushkin fell for her when she was only sixteen. However, they both become jealous of each other when she captures the attention of Tsar Nicholas I, and the malicious Imperial Court in St. Petersburg turns its eyes on her.
While readers can decide for themselves whether Natalya is a villain, the novel provides a much-needed account of her story. I particularly enjoy reading books about the Romanov reign in Russia, but I've mostly read about Nicholas II and Alexandra, who were Emperor and Empress of the Russian Empire almost 100 years later. As a result, this book was particularly fascinating to me, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Imperial Russian history or Alexander Pushkin, whom I didn't know much about before reading this book.
