The Woman of a Thousand Names by Alexandra Lapierre

 Maria Ignatyevna Zakrevskaya (1893-1974) of high birth was the so called woman of a thousand names as no one saw the same image of her, but they all agreed that she symbolized Life. Life against all odds. She was determined to survive the October Revolution, which eradicated her social class. Russia had “a population that’s been starving for three centuries,” while aristocrats blindly lived in opulence. And she recognized that and wanted to see a change.

She is born with a silver spoon in her mouth. From her governess, she inherits calmness, kindness, and willingness to indulge.

At six years old, she speaks three languages fluently.

At fifteen, she becomes an ambassador between her older sisters and mother. “As a diplomat, Mourushka used her skills to smooth over sharp edges and plead their cases, and on occasion she was able to reestablish harmony.” Being torn between her affections, her escape was books.

At seventeen, on her way to visit her sister in Germany, she meets a man who asks for her hand in marriage. Her first season as a married woman is ecstatic. It’s like “she herself was the axis upon which the world turned (…) the world of imperial courts.” Afterwards, her husband becomes distant and cold. He grants “her free rein to flit about and charm as she pleases.”

The opposite political views drift them even further apart. “He’s hungry for more authority and considers the tsar too liberal.” She on the other hand sees a need “to move forward and to achieve a parliamentary system that works.”

As WWII breaks out, she volunteers as a translator.

1917 brings two revolutions first the February Revolution, then the October Revolution.

The February Revolution brings growing riots everywhere. “The soldiers who had joined the rebellion had had no choice but to shoot their former officers.” Russia’s civil turmoil leads commoners to breaking into palaces and ransacking through them, leaving devastation and aristocrats running for their lives.

Lenin, “a descendant of lesser nobility,” is here to squash “elites at every level. The aristocrats, the intelligentsia, the businessmen, the Jews, the Germans, and even the revolutionaries, if they’re well off.”

After carrying an affair with a British diplomat, she is forced to play a double agent working for both sides, British and Russian.

She is human. Under interrogations, she makes the best decisions she can. She wants to live and she wants to make sure that her family is alive and safe. “Against all odds, she stuck to the dictums of her morality.” Relaying news, but not betraying people. Repeating words, but not naming the speakers. Sharing information without putting someone in danger.

Presented with good taste. Yes, she had some romantic entanglements, but none of it is descriptive.

The story depicts well the dramatic gap between the aristocrats and the rest of the society, resulting in bloody revolutions. “In 1914, (…) in Saint Petersburg, luxury and freedom from cares reached their apex. Fresh flowers came from Nice by cartload. And fattened chickens from Nantes. And truffles from Perigord.” The poor lacked everything, thus turning the streets into cutthroating, rioting, and pillaging.

It has a good balance of history. It portrays well the dramatic events, but does not overwhelm with its brutality.

The number of pages (over 600) might be discouraging to some, but keep in mind the story carries on very well. It is engrossing through its entirety. More thought is given to some events and less to others, which gives the story a good pace.

A touching and poignant story of love, survival, and perseverance, woven with beautiful prose.

Release date: 31 March 2020

Source: Atria Books