THE RASPUTIN DAGGER by Theresa Breslin. Reviewed by Adèle Geras.

Theresa Breslin needs no introduction to the readers of this blog. She was one of the Founding History Girls and is well known as the winner of a Carnegie Medal and a writer of great distinction. She has never shied away from difficult topics, and has a deep interest in historical subjects. She's written about the First World War, the Spanish Inquisition, and about the divisions in her home city, Glasgow, in her wonderful novel THE DIVIDED CITY, which is about Catholic/Protestant divide as shown by characters'  loyalty to either Celtic or Rangers.

In THE RASPUTIN DAGGER, which was published last month, Theresa tackles a part of history which has entranced many: the end of the Romanov family, the death of the Mad Monk and the beginnings of the Bolshevik Revolution. This year marks the centenary of that event and this is the first novel I'm aware of that deals with this very thorny subject.

Nina and Stefan are our heroine and hero. The book manages to be many things at the same time: a love story, an education in Russian history, a tale threaded through with the folk tales Theresa loves and has also retold to great effect. There are thrills and surprises along the way, and the invented characters mingle with those taken from the historical record. Most importantly, we meet the Romanov family and what a fascinating collection of people they were! Rasputin, who had such power over the Tsarina and many others, is someone of whom one could definitely say: you couldn't make it up. The novel is a very good way to introduce young adults to these extraordinary people. 

                                                     (The Church of the Spilled Blood)
All Photos: Theresa Breslin Books: ©Scarpa

Nina is forced to flee her home  in Siberia when her father dies. A horrible lawyer wants to marry her and also incidentally steal her inheritance.  She runs away, hiding among her possessions  a dagger studded with pearls and with a huge ruby set into the handle. 

                                        (Tsar Nicholas's tomb)


Later, when she meets Rasputin, it turns out that he has a matching dagger. What is the connection between the two weapons? Is one blessed and one cursed? And why does the dagger belong to Nina?

                                      (The Winter Palace)

We find out the answers to this and other things along the way. The historical story of what happens to Rasputin and the Romanovs is known to many adults but in Breslin's account it's made more accessible and understandable.  The novel is also framed as a love story. The terrible fate that befell the Romanovs occurs, as it were, out of the frame, but it's clear what's going to happen to them and a postscript from the author tells us what happened next. 

                                   
                                          (Basement of Monskoi Palace)


Breslin is very skilled at showing day to day life, as lived in houses, streets, universities, hospitals and she does so mostly through the eyes of a heroine of singular charm and bravery. Nina is a very sympathetic character and we are rooting for her all the way through the book. 

I hope very much that this novel will be read by many, not only in a 'this looks like a really good read' spirit but also in a classroom context where it would provide a wonderful stepping stone to further reading about the world-shattering events of 1917. 

I've taken advantage of knowing Theresa personally to ask her a few questions which follow:

1) How long ago did you begin to think: I ought to write a book about Rasputin? Have you been interested in him, and the Russian Revolution etc for ages or is this a recent passion? And is is purely coincidence that this is the anniversary year of the Russian Revolution?

I've always loved history and am attracted to writing about it. It's such a great opportunity for adventure as young people lived in dangerous and daring times. When growing up our family home was full of books of Folk and Fairy Tales from many lands, which made me want to travel. I found Russian tales fascinating - with stories of deep forests and enormous snowy mountains and bears and wolves. Probably about five years ago I was aware that the centenary of the 1917 Revolution was approaching and, after the success of The Medici Seal and Remembrance, it seemed a natural progression to focus on Russia. And the mysterious monk, Rasputin, is a fascinating character. Then I found out about the actions of the women of the Bread Queues in St Petersburg. On International Women’s Day 1917, (quite newly created to be celebrated on 8^th March, but in Russian Old Calendar in 1917 it was late February) they came on to the streets to protest about the lack of food and the continuing slaughter of World War One. Over the next few days they encouraged both female and male factory workers, and then others, to join them, thus bringing the city to a standstill. Many sections of the army, who’d been ordered to stop them by any means, refused to fire upon the crowds. This led directly to the abdication of the Tsar. This was the February Revolution, which is somewhat overlooked in favour of the more well-known October Revolution. By the summer of 1917 in Russia, women aged 20 and over had won the right to vote and stand for election – compare that with the UK! I felt strongly that this story must be told.  

So, The Rasputin Dagger being published this centenary year of the Russian Revolutions is not a coincidence, no… 

2) How much research do you do? And is it necessary for you to visit the actual places you're writing about?

A LOT of research. The librarian in me is very meticulous, but I also research around the subject to get an emotional feel for the times. It's not always possible, but I do try very hard to visit the places I write about. I managed to visit St Petersburg and Siberia too - both locations are beautiful and amazing. 

3) Did you find your sympathies changing as you wrote this book? What I mean is: did you feel sorrier for the Romanovs at the end than you thought you would be when you started?

Yes, I think that is a fair comment. Essentially they were trapped in a golden cage - with no way out. Prince Harry has spoken about this recently re his own family situation. Tsar Nicholas II watched his grandfather, the liberal Tsar, Alexander III, die a most violently horrible death at the hands of an assassin which put Nicholas off continuing with reforms. Also the Russian Empire was so vast as to be almost ungovernable. And the Tsarina, who could not feel a twinge of sympathy for her? She gave birth (no epidurals then!) to daughter after daughter, until finally the fifth ‘essential male’ child arrived who would inherit the throne and carry on the line of the Romanovs. Then she finds out that her son has haemophilia, a debilitating and incurable condition. On a personal level this is an exceptionally painful discovery for any parent; on the level of the responsibilities of State, it was a catastrophe. I believe the Tsarina was constantly physically and mentally unwell. However…,  my emotions see-sawed. I was endlessly frustrated at the actions of the Imperial Family and angeredby their appalling ignorance, determined foolishness, and lack of empathy. Towards the close of the book I sympathised with them through the last years of their lives – drawn out days of suffering, which they bore with fortitude – ending in brutal murder. 

4) Who do you hope will read this book?

Everybody and Anybody – all ages and not gender specific. My older historical novels are read by 12 year olds and over, with a significant adult readership.  In particular, Remembrance, my book about youth in WWI, - has an adult readership of about 50%.  Because The Rasputin Dagger covers war and revolution, passion and politics, a Storyteller, touches on Folk Tales and their meaning, with some mysticism thrown in, I’m hoping it will have wide-ranging appeal. 

5) Can you say anything at all about what you're working on  next?

Mmmm.... it’s at that fragile little seedling stage where it needs to be cosseted. I’ll have to wait and see if it comes to anything.....  

THERESA BRESLIN is the critically acclaimed Carnegie Medal winning author of over forty books for children & young adults whose work has appeared on stage, radio and TV, and is enjoyed worldwide in many languages. Her writing, which has won many awards, extends over a variety of genres and a wide range of ages: from picture books to longer novels with an adult following. Her historical novels include Remembrance a tale of youth in WWI: Prisoner of the Inquisition shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and voted favourite book by the school pupil shadowing groups: and The Medici Seal which features Leonardo da Vinci.

Her latest novel is The Rasputin Dagger. Set one hundred years ago in St Petersburg during the stormy days of the Russian Revolutions, it tells of Nina and Stefan, two young adults caught up in the chaos of a city in revolt.    

Event Bookings: info@authorsaloud.co.uk Twitter :  @TheresaBreslin1 

www.theresabreslin.co.uk   www.facebook.com/Theresabreslinauthor     

ONLY REMEMBERED ~ ‘Powerful words and pictures about the war that changed our world.’

by

Theresa Breslin

… it’s time for farewells…

This line is from an extract of a recently discovered diary of an unknown French soldier as he goes off to war and into action in 1914. It was chosen by Michael Morpurgo as the first item in his anthology Only Remembered  

 

It’s quite apt for me to choose to write about this book for my blog this month because this is the last blog I’ll do as one of the History Girls – a farewell post from me.

One hundred years have passed since the outbreak of the First World War. To mark the centenary Michael Morpurgo has compiled and edited favourite words and images about the Great War from some of the UK’s leading cultural, political and literary figures to create a beautiful anthology illustrated by Ian Beck. Royalties from each book sold will go to the British Legion and SSAFA who provide lifelong support for forces and their families.  

In setting out to create the anthology Michael’s wish was that such a profoundly important period would continue to be related to young people in an accessible and relevant way. But this book is for all ages and relevant to everyone. Poems, short stories, personal letters, newspaper articles, scripts, diaries, photographs and paintings are just some of the elements of this unique collection – each introduced by the person who selected it.

 Among the contributors is a wide range children’s authors and illustrators, including, among others, David Almond,  Malorie Blackman, Quentin Blake,  Anne Fine, Shirley Hughes, Catherine Johnson, Bali Rai and Jonathan Stroud.  

Speaking of Oh, What a Lovely War, David Almond talks of honouring the decent ordinary folk who go to war.

Malorie Blackman writes of the brave heart and fighting spirit of Walter Tull, the mixed-race son of a Barbadian carpenter and a white English mother. A professional football player who joined the British Army at the outbreak of the war he became a highly regarded black officer, the first to lead white men into battle.

Quentin Blake’s father was a surveyor’s clerk for the Imperial War Graves Commission and his parents lived in France for 10 years after the First World War. He has a simple but telling memory of his father remembering his friend who dies in the conflict.

Anne Fine gives us the source of her own book, The Book of the Banshee, based on the diary of a young man who lied about his age in order to join the Army, and tells of the challenge to make her book into a comedy.  

Shirley Hughes has chosen John Singer Sargent’s painting Gassed. (Worth a visit to the London Imperial War Museum to see that alone TB.)  

Welsh poetry that moved me to tears was selected by History Girl, Catherine Johnson.

Bali Rai’s contribution is entitled Sikh Soldiers and he comments on a shared British and Indian heritage

Jonathan Stroud has given us an extract from the diary of his great-grandfather on Armistice Day, 11^th November 1918.

In my entry I write of how the war affected young children on the Home Front – our youth who became the future. Photos of my research materials show the contrast between the newspaper reports of the first day of the Battle of the Somme and the diary entry of an officer who was actually there and watched his men go forward.

The above are a small selection of a book packed with magnificent content – a fascinating mixture of impressions and thoughts plus some useful information e.g. a Timeline and Websites.   

Some time ago Michael Morpurgo stopped to look at the grave of a young British soldier, who’d been killed in 1918, two weeks before the end of the Great War. Michael refers to this in relation to the book, this soldier being one of the ten million soldiers killed on all sides:

‘Most never grew old enough to know and be known by their children or grandchildren. This book is made for them; for all of them.’

He goes on to say: ‘Here in this book you will find the truth, which comes in many guises, in history, in stories, fictional and non-fictional, in poems and songs and pictures.’  

The Introduction to the book is entitled:

WHO’LL SING THE ANTHEM?  

WHO WILL TELL THE STORY?

This seminal anthology Only Remembered answers these questions.

I am feeling quite sad to be writing this post, not only because of the subject matter, but because it is my last post for this Blogspot as a History Girl. Commitments, personal and professional, have meant I have had to resign but am cheered by the fact that it means creating a space to give a platform to another new voice waiting to be heard.

From the very first moments of the start-up party I’ve loved being a History Girl, and through the years it has been terrific to experience our comradeship and support for each other – not least the Admins who had to bail out Techno-Idiot me on several occasions. But, of course, main praise to the main person - the ever indefatigable Mary Hoffman who has been the inspiration for all of this. I’ve read posts which were poignant, thought-provoking, insightful, quirky and humorous and learned a  LOT more history! Thanks to all HGs. 

             

NOTE:  Theresa Breslin is appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival on 13^th and 19^th August 2014.   

http://www.facebook.com/Theresabreslinauthor     Twitter: @theresabreslin1  

http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/ 

Theresa Breslin writing on WW1:   

NOVELS:                   Remembrance        Ghost Soldier

CONTRIBUTOR:       War Girls                 Only Remembered

Ghost Soldier

by

Theresa Breslin

When Rob and Millie's father goes missing in action while serving on the Western Front during World War One, the children desperately search the hospital trains returning to Edinburgh with the wounded. But there's no sign of him….

The above is part of the blurb for GHOST SOLDIER my new book on World War One for mid-range readers. 

 

The story is a fusion of many disparate ideas that have been gathering in my mind over a number of years: the mainly untold stories of children on the Home Front during the Great War, a close focus on the effect on young children when a father, brother, uncle goes away to fight, and more. While doing research and trying to pull these together into some kind of structure I became quite fascinated by the ambulance trains that operated both abroad and in the UK and I determined that they would feature in the book.  

One of the challenges in writing any kind of fiction is creating what could be termed ‘a credible story line’ I’m sure many of us have met people who, upon discovering that you are a writer, say “I’ve got a good story for you. You’ll never believe this, but…”  Then they go on to relate some fantastical experience, often involving bizarre coincidences. The tale turns out to be true but you simply cannot use it.

                       

With Ghost Soldier the sequence of events happened in reverse.

                          

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow was requisitioned by the authorities to be used as a military hospital. A spur railway line was built so that ambulance trains could bring the soldiers directly to the hospital grounds. In recent years, when the old Stobhill Hospital was being demolished to make way for the new one, an appeal went out for anybody connected to the hospital to send in their memories to be recorded. I had blocked out my book and was on a third draft before I got to grips with this archive. In my story the child characters, Rob and Millie, sneak on to a hospital train in a desperate attempt to lo locate their ‘missing-in-action’ dad. They’ve already had several brushes with a possible ghost, a clash with a army procurement officer who wanted to take away their sheepdog’s pups for training as war dogs, and we had just got to the most exciting bit where Nurse Ethel… - but I mustn’t spoil it for you.

Anyway, I took a break from the creative writing to do some top-up research. To my amazement I came across this. One of the contributions to the Stobhill Hospital archive for the years of WW1 was from a gentleman called Mr Lister who remembered his mother helping with the wounded soldiers:

'...during the First World War the troop trains of wounded used to come in on the railway line, which ran then round the back of Stobhill Hospital, just at Littlehill Golf Club, (where we lived) and my mother, when she saw a train of wounded coming in, used to run down and see if she could help, you know tea and sympathy, that sort of thing, and...

…she went down to this troop train this day, and the first stretcher off was carrying my father's brother, who nobody had heard of for two years...

He’d been brought home from Gallipoli having been gassed first and then wounded and he was on the first stretcher off the train…

She recognised him…”

They say, ‘you couldn’t make it up’ but I had done that very thing.

 

At the beginning of World War One the first method of transporting wounded men by rail could hardly be termed an ‘ambulance train’. They were in the main wagons which had been used to move cattle and goods about. Scrubbed clean and filled with fresh straw they were used as makeshift units to ferry men from the battlefields to military hospitals within France. As the war progressed however and the number of casualties increased instead of diminishing, then more planning and thought went into improving the conditions for patients and medical staff in transit. Still using French rolling stock units were put together to make trains which provided treatment carriages with wagons made into wards and having a pharmacy and quarters for medical staff. But it wasn’t until nearer the end of 1914 before special constructed ‘Hospital Trains’ arrived from the UK.      

It is possible to find references to and quotes from newspaper articles and journalists who witnessed the soldiers being helped onto the trains. These do describe horrific wounds and can make distressing reading but the plethora of postcards and cigarette cards paint an altogether jollier picture with chaps smiling and hailing each other, supposedly coming from the battlefields but wearing impossibly clean and smart uniforms. The stories of the incredible dedication and bravery of the nurses working on the trains would fill another book e.g. making their way from carriage to carriage via the footplate on a moving train before corridor trains came into use.

And as I go I’m garnering my information, hoarding glittery bits hoping that they might come in useful. The Queen Alexandra nurses have a red cape – yes definitely – that’s definitely a shiny little nugget to be polished very carefully.    

Ambulance trains were used in France and Belgium, but as the war went on they were also used in Britain to take wounded men to hospitals set up in a number of the big cities. Regional railway companies donated units and others were financed by public and private subscription. Thankfully corridor coaches were introduced. By the time they arrived on the train in Britain the men’s wounds had been assessed as they were processed through receiving sheds in the ports before being dispatched onto the trains.

Going from the Channel ports in the south of England extra lines were created so that the train could travel directly to the designated hospital. I do think that, in addition to efficiency, there was another reason for this. It prevented the public from seeing the tremendous number of casualties. It was short stretch for me to imagine that the trains would also stop at remote locations to take on water – vis. near the farm cottage where Rob and Millie live - giving them the opportunity to try to find out what happened to their dad.

I hope I have managed to get the technical details right. – I’m sure I will receive Tweets and Facebook messages if I have made an error re train engine, tender, carriages, taking on water etc

In addition to the research on hospital trains and visiting the Battlefields and the Imperial War Museum other small unexpected pieces slot into place. In that serendipity way that writers some across unusual items I was researching something else and browsing through a very small museum contained in the library of a seaside town – no more than a large room - when I came across a WW1 board game. It had tiny cardboard figures of soldiers and officers and men in Allied and German uniforms. I’m still working out the rules but it became a link to the illustrations within the book.

In Remembrance some of the pity of the war is evoked by quotes from the poetry of Sassoon but also because, interspersed with the titled sections of the book, are some beautiful sketches by Jason Cockcroft. With muted tones; soft white, black and charcoal greys, the poppies, daisies and cornflowers are shown flowering among the ammunition boxes.

In Ghost Soldier the chapter headings are by Kate Leiper who was the artist for An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales She has captured innocence and  simplicity, coupled with the inherent dignity, of the children, and the poignancy of the lost childhood toys of the real Ghost Soldier.

NOTE:  Theresa Breslin is appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival on 13^th and 19^th August 2014.   

Images Copyright SCARPA

Book Covers via publishers

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http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/ 

Theresa Breslin writing on WW1:   

NOVELS:                   Remembrance        Ghost Soldier

CONTRIBUTOR:       War Girls                 Only Remembered

War Girl - War Artist WW1

by

Theresa Breslin

‘A moving collection of the untold stories of women in the First World War…’

WAR GIRLS is an anthology of short stories exploring how the First World War changed and shaped the lives of women forever. Publication date is 5^th June 2014 with contributions from myself, Melvin Burgess. Berlie Doherty, Anne Fine, Adèle Geras, Mary Hooper, Rowena House, Sally Nicholls, and Matt Whyman.

  

 

My own story, Shadow and Light, is inspired by the artist and volunteer nurse Norah Nielsen Gray. Norah was born in 1882 in the Scottish seaside town of Helensburgh. She grew up there showing early artistic talent, and when the family moved to Glasgow, she studied at the Glasgow School of Art. The inspirational director at the time encouraged women to attend even on a part time basis, and appointed a special ‘Women’s Warden’. (I’m not sure whether the thinking behind this was to protect the women or the men!) Norah was noted for her portrait painting and while still a student had a picture accepted for the Royal Academy. She was also acclaimed for her use of colour and this was one of the slender threads of information that glowed brightly when I was collating facts for my story.

            Of course, like many stories, the origins of Shadow and Light lie in the past, germinating for years before they coalesce into something which might produce a piece of work. Writing The Medici Seal meant that I had studied Leonardo da Vinci’s technique of sfumato. Doing book notes to be included in the recently published new edition of Remembrance  meant that I’d returned to the Imperial War Museum in London last year. Although the galleries were operating under restricted access due to the WW1 refurbishment, some rooms holding relevant paintings were still open. It was one of those serendipity things where, if the main sections dealing with war had been available then perhaps I wouldn’t have spent so long with the paintings - looking again at stunning canvases of John Singer Sargent, and then browsing in the shop and finding the book, Women War Artists.  During World War One only 4 women were commissioned as official war artists as opposed to 47 men! The employment terms for the women were more severe and in the 1919 Exhibition out of 925 works a mere 15 of the paintings were by women.    

I read the book and thought - surely there were more women painting images of World War One? Trawling the Internet I came across Norah Nielsen Gray who, despite having no commission, painted war scenes. I looked at her paintings and read about her life and got that shivery feeling when you realise that you’ve stumbled on something. She wasn’t only a significant major artist she was also brave - while leading a successful and comfortable life she volunteered to join the Scottish Women’s Hospitals as a nursing assistant.

These hospitals were set up in France by Dr Elsie Inglis, a British doctor and suffragette based in Edinburgh who pioneered medical care for women. When war broke out Dr Inglis approached the British government with an offer to help, but was told to ‘go home and sit still’ (!) She then wrote to the French government and under the auspices of the French Red Cross established two hospitals staffed with women: doctors, surgeons, ambulance drivers, admin staff etc. { Note to self: Dr Inglis deserves a blog all of her own}

Norah became one of Dr Inglis’s team of women hospital staff based at Royaumont Abbey Hospital just outside Paris and there she painted in her spare time. When the war was over the Imperial War Museum, recognizing her talent, wanted to purchase one of her paintings -  a scene inside the hospital – as it was thought that the War Museum should have a record of what was done “by the British for the French Army in the way of Hospitals”. Norah was a feisty women and insisted that the painting should be acquired for the General Section and not be put into the ‘Women’s Work’ Section, as the museum proposed. They responded by saying that the purchasing budget for the General Section had been exhausted. Norah refused to let them have the painting which is why, (and also thanks to the efforts of Argyll and Bute Area Librarian Pat McCann), it now hangs in the Gallery of the West King Street library in Helensburgh.

© This painting is owned by Argyll and Bute Council

 The painting, Hôpital Auxilaire D’Armée 30, Abbaye de Royaumont, was gifted to the people of Helensburgh by the artist’s sister, Dr Tina Gray, on her death in 1984.

More information here http://tinyurl.com/ndm94qy

A year after Norah refused to give them this painting the Imperial War Museum commissioned her to paint another record of the staff at the hospital. This version now is now part of the Museum’s collection.

For my purposes more research was needed: getting out my archived WW1 notes, poring over old maps of France to locate a fictitious ambulance base somewhere between Amiens and Albert – quite deliberately to be directly in the line of the German breakthrough during their Spring Offensive of 1918. It was not British Government policy to place women in the front line so I had to contrive a means whereby my characters would be in real and active danger. I had to take time to tease out the characters, for although Norah is the inspiration this is not the story of her life at all. I have made my young artist drive an ambulance as many women did. She has her own family and back story. And here I must pay tribute to the editors at Andersen Press for their patience while I wrestled with various ideas.

            So, my story is about a young artist called Merle who, in the autumn of 1917, arrives in France with her friend Grace to work as ambulance drivers. Back story is dribbled in as they acclimatise and move south in the company of one Captain George Taylor with whom Merle has an immediate clash.

Without over emphasising the horror I’ve been as true as I can to the conditions in which these women worked. Merle paints when she can, but the sights and sound of the patients she transports from the hospital trains is with her and the war is moving closer each day until finally Albert falls. The German army breaks through the Front Line and is advancing rapidly just as another hospital train is due to arrive at the railway station…

Throughout the drama I’ve tried to weave the glowing thread of colour and artistic interpretation that first alerted me to the potential of the story.

            I hope you enjoy it and the other stories too – they are, as it says in the blurb, 

             …moving portraits of loss and grief, and of hope overcoming terrible odds

*NOTE:  A WAR GIRLS panel event will take place at 6p.m. on 19^th June at Lancashire Infantry Museum in Preston chaired by a journalist from BBC Lancashire with Carnegie Medal winning writers:Theresa Breslin, Melvin Burgess, Berlie Doherty and Anne Fine.

 The painting, Hôpital Auxilaire D’Armée 30, Abbaye de Royaumont, hangs in Helensburgh Library and is owned by Argyll and Bute Council. It is reproduced here with their permission. 

Book Covers via publishers

 http://www.facebook.com/Theresabreslinauthor     Twitter: @theresabreslin1  

 http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/ 

Theresa Breslin writing on WW1:   

NOVELS:                   Remembrance        Ghost Soldier

CONTRIBUTOR:       War Girls                 Only Remembered