As Russian Civil War Rages, An Unexpected Heroine Emerges
What if a Siberian Joan of Arc had rescued the White Armies at a critical point of the Russian Civil War in 1919?
In a quiet town near Siberia’s Lake Baikal, Zhanna Dorokhina turns eighteen as the Russian Civil War rages. She is a bright, headstrong girl, with normal hopes and dreams, but for years, she has heard inner voices. The … years, she has heard inner voices. The voices tell her to be virtuous, study well, and nurture her faith, for a great task lies ahead.
˃˃˃ Prophetic Voices Foretell of Russia’s Doom
Lately, however, the voices have turned ominous, foretelling Russia’s doom if the White Armies fail to crush the Bolshevik usurpers in Moscow. They direct Zhanna to travel to Omsk to alert the Siberian dictator, Admiral Kolchak, and to seek command of an army to besiege Moscow.
When Zhanna informs her father, he thinks her mad. But a young American intelligence officer and his Russian counterpart help win her an audience with the Admiral, and the two young men become her wartime companions.
˃˃˃ In The Face Of Death, Will The Prophecies Be Fulfilled?
Though Zhanna and the American officer harbor tender feelings for one another, Zhanna must put those feelings aside, because her voices demand that she remain pure. During the coming months, Zhanna persists despite relentless opposition. Displaying remarkable charisma and military aptitude, she leads her army across vast expanses of untamed forest and steppe, where suffering, violence and treachery await at every turn. But over time, Zhanna’s obsession with victory arouses powerful enemies. Defying a ceasefire, Zhanna wins her greatest battle, only to ride into a Bolshevik ambush soon after. Held captive, she must endure a vengeful show trial and face the verdict alone, without knowing whether her prophecies will be fulfilled.
˃˃˃ “A Russian war story that lives and breathes from a writer at the peak of his powers.” KIRKUS REVIEWS
MAID OF BAIKAL is a richly imagined speculation on the Russian Civil War that vividly portrays its violence, bitterness, and hardship, while telling the inspirational story of a determined young woman who perseveres in the face of overwhelming obstacles and who dies for her beliefs, not knowing whether her dreams will be realized.
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Very informative and quite realistic! Takes you back to Russia during the early 1900s.
The author imagines what might have happened if a Joan of Arc had lived during the Bolshevik revolution and led her fellow Russians to victory over the socialists.
The characters were realistic and what was most impressive was the amount of research and historical detail in the portrait of a society in peril.
MAID OF BAIKAL, A Speculative Historical Novel of the Russian Civil War: Preston Fleming
After the bloody revolution against the Romanov Russian Czar, the White Russian Armies fought to achieve a free and democratic Russia. The author develops a path to victory revolving around a Joan-of-Arc-type spiritual and military leader, assisted by Western spies and supportive arms from England and America. The Maid of Baikal is fictional, but the story involves many of the individuals who changed Russian history. The story is believable from beginning to end.
In a unique twist, the author suggests listening to selected classical works by late 18th and early 19th century composers.
The characters were well developed and very interesting. It’s fiction but based on actual people and events. It was very informative about the Russian revolution. I didn’t realize the involved of the British and U.S. Sure wish the real life ended like the book. I really enjoyed the read.
The author was very knowledgeable about the geography and action taking place at the time in Russia. The early part of the book held my attention than the latter pages. It appeared to match history closely early and then ended as fantasy without warning. All in all, I enjoyed it.
An interesting counterfactual history of the Russian Civil War with suggested musical accompaniment
Reminiscent of War and Peace.
Very well wrtten, good character development.
To be honest, I don’t remember learning much about Russian history in high school. How about you?
*Maid of Baikal* by Preston Fleming is a historical fiction based on the Russian civil war. It follows a young American captain, Ned du Pont, on his journey through Russia from 1918 to 1919. He is there under the cover of getting communications established for the Whites; all the while, he is gaining intelligence for the Allies. Along his travels he meets a maiden named Zhanna. Zhanna is not just any maiden. She hears Voices from God, and these Voices instruct her to help with the civil war. The story goes on to describe Ned’s and Zhanna’s trials and tribulations in fighting against the Bolsheviks.
Preston Fleming put his heart and soul into this work, and the reader can tell. He uses beautiful prose to describe the landscape of Russia. It almost feels like you could be there. The dialogue is engaging. If you enjoy many tactical discussions and theories, this is the story for you. The characters discuss strategy and military movements throughout the book. Since the story is a historical fiction, he includes a list of all the character (both real and fictional) to help the reader. He also includes maps of Russia and a list of musical themes to be listened to while reading.
It was very long and frequently relied on boring descriptions of battles.
I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
Readers who enjoy a well written story will find this book a rare treat. It gave me a great understanding of a time and a place I knew nothing about; and also connected this place with the bigger global picture. I really enjoyed watching how a single person might have such a huge impact on history.
The book can be a challenging read at first. However, once I made it through chapter 2, I found the rest of the book went quite smoothly. As I continued on with the story, I started to realize how valuable chapter 2 was in setting the stage for so many characters. I was also quite impressed with how the author took a dinner party, made it so in-depth and painted such a picture of the characters and the time and place.
Although I am not a particularly religious person, the voices that played such a role in the Maids character were not a distraction or an unbelievable aspect of the book. They played their part and the fact that they were “off stage” throughout the entire story and never explicitly written worked for me.
As I was reading Admiral Kolchak’s key speech late in the book, I was reminded of another book I read recently that talked about an important characters big speech and it’s impact on everyone who listened to; But that author did not bother to write the speech itself. I was struck by how important reading the Admiral’s speech was to understanding the impact of the Maid on his character and ultimately to how the story unfolds.
There is a whole lot of detail throughout the entire book about Russia and the specific settings throughout the story. I often wondered about the value of so much information but ultimately the depth of the detail was very helpful in helping me enjoy the story. There are plenty of anachronisms but they help make the story so true to the times. When the author used an old Russian unit of measure he explained it. The first time I came across an old terms, I checked the end notes and it was fine for the rest of the book.
I really enjoyed the cocktail party that ended the book. It was short and to the point in the way the it brought closure to so many characters stories.
Worth adding to your reading list!
It took me forever to finish this book
Great historical fiction. Wonderful insight into the history of Russia, the Soviet Union and the satellite countries around them. Wonderful blend of fictional and historical characters.
Reveals the weaknesses of Siberian forces arrayed against the Bolsheviks long ago.
Slow going for me, I usually read quite fast. Maybe the Russian names . . . Very informative however. It reminds me of our country today with all the politicians doing what is profitable for themselves.
A rather anticlimactic ending for our heroine left me a little flat.