The bronze horseman / Paullina Simons.

First published by Flamingo, 2000.

Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer when the sun hardly sets on the beautiful palaces and stately avenues that still speak of a different age? when the city was known as St Petersburg. The Metanov family live in a crowded apartment? the two sisters Daria and Tatiana sharing a bed? their parents and brother crowded in another room? their grandparents nearby. It?s a hard life? but one with room enough for love and romance. However? when Tatiana first sets eyes on Daria?s boyfriend? Alexander? she knows immediately that for her? the path of love will never be easy? but rather? one of sacrifice and denial. Hitler?s invasion of Russia spells war and? for Leningrad? siege? and their earlier existence seems luxurious in comparison with the terrible deprivations that the family suffers. As the grip of winter closes as relentlessly as the advancing German army? so Tatiana is forced into ever more desperate measures in order to survive.