Q: How do you balance true history with your imagination? What did your character wall consist of and how did it help you, such as using a photo of Tom Brady as inspiration?Ī: I find such inspiration in true stories and whenever possible use the truth, since it’s usually more interesting and rings truer than anything fictionalized. It is definitely worth visiting and if the painted crypt below is open, that is lovely to see as well. The lovely cathedral Cathédrale Saint-Alexandre Nevsky - which Tsar Alexander II visited when it was first built - was an anchor for the community once upon a time. There are a few vestiges of the émigrés life there still - the restaurant I used as a setting in one chapter, is now closed.

Q: How did you bring the White Russian émigré experience in Paris to the written page? What enclave did they settle in? What place would you recommend a tourist visit to see their historical footprints?Ī: I did a lot of research in Paris for “Lilac Girls,” and when I went back to do some press with my French publisher, I visited the Russian cathedral in “Lost Roses.” It opened up a whole world, a former Russian enclave on Rue Daru. I was also curious about the Russian peasants who benefited from the Revolution.

I wanted to know more about how they dealt with creating new lives. A: I was intrigued with how they changed places in a way - how one minute the Russian aristocrats were on top of the world and the next thing they had nothing.

Lost roses a novel book review