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Julia Underwood
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Red Winter Kindle Edition

by Julia Underwood (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
Wealthy, privileged Sophie Cooke, the eldest daughter of a successful English businessman in St Petersburg, has her life torn apart by historic changes in Russia.

In the early 1900s, enjoying a luxurious existence and a social life of parties and balls, Sophie becomes engaged to the love of her life; a young doctor, Anatoly Andropov. The outbreak of the Great War means that their marriage is earlier than planned and Tolya goes to serve in a field hospital on the eastern front.

Sophie, bored and lonely at home, leaves to join him as a nurse. Later she gives birth to a baby boy and, when expecting her second child, conditions compel her to return to her home city, now named Petrograd.

Petrograd becomes the epicentre of the greatest upheaval in Russian history where the Tsar is overthrown and socialist revolutionaries take over the government. During the months and years that follow, the socialist revolution and a bitter Civil War play out amidst uncertainty, lethal danger and brutal violence. Sophie’s family flee to England, to safety, but even that escape is marked with tragedy.

Sophie remains in Petrograd with her children to wait Tolya’s return. Conditions in the city deteriorate, threatening her little family with starvation and disease. Sophie endures endless struggles at home and at work in a state hospital with the fate of her husband always on her mind. Where is he? Is he even alive? Serious illness and the fragile health of her children drive her to join her family in England where she hears the worst news possible which forces her to return alone to Russia to embark on a dangerous quest.

This sweeping novel of love and loss will transport the reader from tsarist Russia in 1913, through the Great War, the Russian Revolution and Civil War to 1922, finally portraying the life of Russian émigrés in England.
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  1. Print length
    322 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    October 26, 2017
  5. File size
    1.3 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B076X2934Z
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 26, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.3 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

About the author

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Julia Underwood

Julia Underwood

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Julia Underwood - London,England.

I have been writing for many years. At boarding school I took liberties with published work, adapting it into plays for my classmates to perform. Frequently in trouble for ignoring the 'no talking after lights' rule, I related an ongoing saga of terror and mayhem to my friends.

My father was an Intelligence Officer in the British Army and, after World War 2 we lived in Germany and Austria. I have also lived and worked in Jamaica and France.

Before starting a family I worked as a Medical Research Scientist (I have a BSc in Physiology) for the NHS and the Athritis and Rheumatism Council. Running a pub and a restaurant were more stressful and difficult. Later, for many years I was an interior designer, also making soft furnishings.

I write fiction: short stories, children's stories, plays and four novels (published for Kindle by Endeavour Press). I have had short stories and articles published in magazines and have won and been short-listed in competitions with my short stories and even a children's poem once.

My obsessions are writing, films, cats, cooking and doll's house furnishings (when I'm not writing I obsessively embroider 1"/12" scale replica carpets and knit dolls' house clothes on needles as thin as a wire). I also knit and crochet for charity and make patchwork quilts.

My novels are : 'War's Last Dance' about Berlin in 1946; 'Turning the Tables' set in 1976 and concerning a crime against a London casino; three murder mystery novellas: 'A Murder of no Account'; 'A Murder Close to Home'; and 'A Murder in the Country', set during World War II and all featuring the amateur detective, Eve Duncan. All three of these novellas can also be bought as an omnibus edition 'Murders in the Blitz'.

My most recent novel was written for the centenary of the Russian Revolution. 'Red Winter' is about a family who lose everything in the conflict. I have also edited and published a book written by my late husband. 'A Difficult Murder' is set in New York City. Two anthologies of short stories - some of them prize winners - complete my collection of fiction. They are 'Cats and Other Tales' and 'Idle Thoughts'. Each one contains an eclectic mixture of short stories. I have also published, with my copy editor's hat on, a short handbook of misused words 'Choose Your Words' to help authors with tricky words.

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4 out of 5 stars
49 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Anne
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2018
    When Sophie married the dashing young doctor, Anatoly Andropov, she had no idea where her life would lead her. In the years that follow, Sophie would witness the horrors of World War I and the terror of the 1917 revolution. Being half-English, Sophie has the chance to leave Russia with her family, but how can she when she knows not what has happened to her husband?

    From the splendour of Tsarist Russia to the abject poverty of life under the Bolsheviks, Red Winter by Julia Underwood is a sweeping saga of one young woman as she fights for her country, her family, and the man she loves. The brutality of this time is beautifully portrayed in one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read depicting this era. This book is right up there with Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, and Danielle Steel's, Zoya. Red Winter is a breathtaking story that had me gripped from the opening chapter — so gripped in fact that I simply could not put the book down and read it in one sitting.

    Sophie was a beautifully portrayed protagonist, and while the world is falling down around her, she faces this changing world with courage and integrity. She is the glue that holds her family together, and her bravery is inspiring, as is her self-sacrifice. Sophie meets each disaster head on, and although at times she is discouraged she somehow finds the strength to carry on.

    The depth of research, Julie Underwood has dedicated to portraying the period as accurately as she can has to be commended. I found no historical inaccuracies, and the story came across as very real in the telling.

    An enjoyable story, filled with tragedy and hardship but with a satisfying ending.

    I Highly Recommend.
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  • veronica
    4.0 out of 5 stars This is a story documenting the terrible happenings inflicted on the Russian people around The Great ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2017
    An historical novel of some substance.
    This is a story documenting the terrible happenings inflicted on the Russian people around The Great War, the Bolshevik uprising and the Russian Civil War.
    Half-Russian, Sophie Cooke, who comes from a privileged background, is thrust into unbelievable hardships when her doctor husband is sent to the front line and she is left to care for her parents, siblings and two small children.
    While, the communists endeavour to bring the country to its knees, Sophie struggles to hold everything together. Stripped of their worldly belongings, the Cooke’s former bourgeois life-style only serves to increase more indignity and humiliation. Finally, on the brink of starvation, Sophie’s father has no choice but to find a way to get to them all England.
    However, Sophie, without word from her husband is reluctant to leave. She finds a job as a nurse and remains behind with her children, until chronic ill health forces her leave as well. Once in England she regains her strength, only to hear that her husband has been accused of treason and has been banished to Siberia. Despite the danger she returns to Russia to find out what has become of him.
    This is an intelligent novel and the author’s attention to detail is meticulous and, although I felt there could have been less fact and a little more fiction, the story really comes alive in the last quarter. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I recommend this engrossing read to all lovers of Russian history.
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  • Jenna
    4.0 out of 5 stars Those Bloody Bolsheviks Ruin Everything!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2017
    Set in a time and place few of us are taught about -- Russia during WWI on the brink of the Bolshevik Revolution -- this story has endearing characters (Sophie and Tolya) who slog through real events in history, trying desperately to hang on to love, while confronting war, separation, poverty, squalor, and political upheaval. This is a great read for anyone who really wants historical romance that factually follows real events.
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  • Lesley Wilson
    5.0 out of 5 stars An historical tour de force
    Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2018
    Julia Underwood’s story brings the lives of Sophie Cook (Russian mother, English father) and her Russian husband, Anatolie Andropov, into sharp focus as she describes their privileged position during the affluent Tsarists regime. The young couples’ situation changes drastically during the first world war, and the following, brutal, Bolshevik uprising and takeover. Ms Underwood’s meticulously researched and informative book plunged me into the colourful action, and introduced me to a cast of unforgettable characters. A tale of unbelievable bravery, and of love and loss, had me enthralled from start to finish. I am not going to describe how the story ends – to discover what happens I recommend you read this excellent book for yourself. A tour de force. Deserves more than 5 stars in my opinion.
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  • Pauline
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Award Winning Read
    Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
    Red Winter by Julia Underwood has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Premier Award.
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  • judith byrd
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hardships and love in Russia in the early 20th Century
    Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017
    I loved this book. It was fast paced and flower easily from one hardening another as wealthy Russians were stripped of their wealth and possessions during and after World War I.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • M. Saalfeld
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding novel, beautifully written, impossible to put down.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Julia Underwood is one of the greatest storytellers of all time.

    Red Winter is a beautifully written historical novel set during the socialist revolution in Russia in the 1900s. The wonderful characterisation, woven into the well-researched storyline, bring the history to life. I have no particular interest in Russian history, and yet I was captivated by this book from start to finish.

    Sophie Cooke, a wealthy young woman of English heritage, finds her life torn apart by war and the revolution. She finds herself living in poverty and danger, separated from her beloved husband, a doctor, attempting to feed their two small children on meagre rations. She is forced to work exhausting hours in barbaric conditions as a nurse, treating soldiers with fatal injuries, and succumbs to malnutrition, illness and fatigue.

    Forced to put the welfare of her children before the possibility of never seeing her husband again, she makes plans to escape to England. However, she is forced to make a dangerous return journey to Russia when she receives some devastating news about her husband.

    I would recommend this book to everyone, it is not normally the type of book I am drawn to, yet I will read it again and again, and I am certain that other readers will do the same.
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  • rodanke
    5.0 out of 5 stars Immensely enjoyable
    Reviewed in Canada on November 15, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The author was through her characters able to bring a sad period in Russian history alive. The book was enlightening.
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  • David of Three Oaks
    4.0 out of 5 stars Romance at the Time of the Revolution
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Red Winter looks at the Russian revolution through the lens of an English family who lived a comfortable life under the Tsar. The novel has a range of characters both English and Russian. Julia Underwood does not spare the reader from the levels of deprivation suffered by the very people for whom the revolution was intended to bring prosperity. The story of a Russian doctor and his English wife who finds employment as a nurse also includes characters that are personally profiting from the social upheaval and political change demonstrating that collectivism runs against the tide of human nature which is inherently selfish. The novel is primarily a romance and not a fictionalised history but the historical events severely test the story's lovers. I thorioughly enjoyed it.
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  • A. Lockwood
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well written epic of love, war, revolution and above all survival
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Red winter is the Russian revolution seen through the eyes of a young woman; Sophie. Privileged and of Russian and English descent her life is to be changed forever. We see her growing from a naïve teenager, head over heels in love with Tolya, an idealistic and serious man, into a rather formidable woman. She is not afraid to make difficult choices and rather heroic when it comes to her husband and family. The historical details are well researched and form an excellent setting to this story, but it never becomes a history lesson; it’s all about how the events of the time impact on Sophie and her family. Very well captured is the changing relationship between Sophie and her former servants. I enjoyed this well written epic of love, war, revolution and above all survival.
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