Natasha's Dance : A Cultural History of Russia

From the award-winning author of The Whisperers, Orlando Figes Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia is a dazzling history of Russia's mighty culture.

Orlando Figes' enthralling, richly evocative history has been heralded as a literary masterpiece on Russia, the lives of those who have shaped its culture, and the enduring spirit of a people.

"Wonderfully rich ... magnificent and compelling ... a delight to read" - Antony Beevor

"A tour de force by the great storyteller of modern Russian historians ... Figes mobilizes a cast of serf harems, dynasties, politburos, libertines, filmmakers, novelists, composers, poets, tsars and tyrants ... superb, flamboyant and masterful" - Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Financial Times

"Awe-inspiring ... Natasha's Dance has all the qualities of an epic tragedy" - Mail on Sunday

"It is so much fun to read that I hesitate to write too much, for fear of spoiling the pleasures and surprises of the book" - Sunday Telegraph

"Magnificent ... Figes is at his exciting best" - Guardian

"Breathtaking ... The title of this masterly history comes from War and Peace, when the aristocratic heroine, Natasha Rostova, finds herself intuitively picking up the rhythm of a peasant dance ... One of those books that, at times, makes you wonder how you have so far managed to do without it" - Independent on Sunday

"Thrilling, dizzying ... I would defy any reader not to be captivated" - Literary Review

Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Peasant Russia, Civil War, A People's Tragedy, Natasha's Dance, The Whisperers and Just Send Me Word. His books have been translated into over twenty languages.