Maybe it's the imagery.
Maybe it's how real the characters are.
Maybe it's the journey, of leaving and embracing the new things God has in store for you.
Maybe it's the realistic character growth.
Maybe it's because of my own Russian heritage, but whatever the reason,
this book felt like coming home. ( )

Maybe it's the imagery.
Maybe it's how real the characters are.
Maybe it's the journey, of leaving and embracing the new things God has in store for you.
Maybe it's the realistic character growth.
Maybe it's because of my own Russian heritage, but whatever the reason,
this book felt like coming home. ( )

Anna, a young woman of the peasantry. Katrina, a young woman of the aristocracy. And pre-revolutionary Russia, feeling the heat of political conflict, imminent war, and inevitable change to the empire in The Crown and the Crucible by authors Michael Phillips and Judith Pella.

If I'd read this novel, first published in 1991, back in my adolescence, it might have been nigh on perfection to me.

Indeed, the story is vivid in its detail, particularly in the areas of religion, politics, and war. The simmering of social unrest is palpable, as is the layered tension between an older generation that doesn't fully understand the discontent, ire, and passion of a younger generation hungry for a new social order. The landscape is ripe for revolution, and the historical and ideological complexities of the novel had me engrossed.

However, if I'd been younger when I'd read it, I might not have noticed what seems to be a dichotomy of tones and styles in the book.

The story goes from something rich and serious to something that's overdramatic and almost juvenile in its quality. The narrator and characters alike begin to essentially "shout" maybe forty-five percent or more of what they say, complete with excessive exclamation points and italics. The opinionated narrator spells out pretty much everything about humble, tearful, timid Anna and spoiled, self-centered, willful Katrina. The characterizations of the two young women and other people in the story, as well as the story's development, are rather simplistic with a lack of nuance…until the style and tone settle down and shift back to something richer and more serious. Such shifts seem to happen several times throughout the novel.

Perhaps the tell-all, commentating narrator is a throwback to classic literature. Perhaps the stretches with a more juvenile flavor are meant to reflect some of the characters' immaturity. Perhaps the style will smooth out or shift completely one way or the other as the saga continues, or when the novels switch to only one author. I'm not sure.

Nevertheless, even with its parts that were fluff to me, the novel built a substantive and intriguing foundation overall that has me interested in seeing what happens next in the series. ( )

This is the beginning of a series of stories that will teach you as well as entertain you. It will give you a history lesson of the beginning of the country of Russia and how the people lived and struggled and loved. There are two distinct "classes" in Russia at this time, during the 1800's, the pre-revolutionary era. You will find yourself getting to know and understand both "classes" and to understand just how different the people lived then.

Anna Yevnovna Burenin is a peasant girl who is fortunate(?) to be taken from her family and the tiny village of Katyk and find work in a prince's palace in St. Petersburg. Life will not be easy for Anna as she adjusts to the harsh demands of life in the home of the Fedorcenko family. When Princess Katrina Fedorcenko decides to make Anna her personal maid life gets silghtly easier for her. Then there is Prince Sergei who is thoughtful and caring and not at all like the rest of his family. He actually sees Anna as a person, who you can talk to and share your thoughts with. You will also meet Anna's brother Paul, who is caught up on the whole revolution idea. The Balkan War is beginning in this story also and you will see the needless death and slaughter taking place. There is a lot of things going on and you will understand a lot of Russian culture as you read. I felt for the people of Russia as they struggle to just exist and for others who have so much and are so privileged and care so little for those "beneath" them. This is a long series and this book kind of sets the stage for what will be happening throughout the rest of this series. It was a good beginning and I look forward to reading the next story. ( )

This is the third book in the series. Its around the time what civil war breaks out in Russia. The world they have known is starting to fade into memories.... (Amanda, Fall 2009)