Fleur — Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

The year is 1851, and Victorian England is at the height of its self-confidence: the greatest industrial nation in the world, vigorous, inquisitive, self-reliant, and generous.

Young Fleur Hamilton is truly a product of the era. Intelligent and independent, she is also utterly innocent in matters of love and the ways of men. So she is unprepared, while visiting St. Petersburg, for the feelings provoked by Count Sergei Kirov, the vibrant, enigmatic Russian with a tragic secret. In the gilded splendor of his city, Fleur falls in love with Kirov and with the mystical, barbaric beauty of Russia. But their two countries are on the brink of war, and Kirov is on the verge of a marriage of convenience with the daughter of Fleur's host.

From the sophistication of Imperial Petersburg to the rustic simplicity of the Crimea: from elegant country house parties to the agony and squalor of besieged Sebastopol, Fleur follows her heart and tries to unravel the mystery of Kirov, to learn what binds the threads of her life so closely to his.

Rich with historical and romantic drama, Fleur is a worth sequel to the acclaimed Anna.