ABOUT BOOK
The protagonist is fictional Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on 24 October 1889. He was raised on his Rostov family's estate "Idlehour" in Nizhny Novgorod. Rostov's godfather was his father's comrade in the cavalry, Grand Duke Demidov. When the Count's parents died of cholera within hours of each other in 1900, Grand Duke Demidov became the 11-year-old's guardian. Demidov counseled him to be strong for his sister Helena, because "...adversity presents itself in many forms, and if a man does not master his circumstances, then he is bound to be mastered by them."[1] The Rostov siblings are aristocrats, making social visits to nearby estates by horse-drawn troika or sleigh.
As a young man, the Count was sent out of the country (as was the custom at the time) by his grandmother for wounding Helena's suitor, a cad who broke her heart. Upon returning home from Paris after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, the Count was arrested.
REVIEWS
Chosen as an isolation read by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: ‘A wonderful book which gives the reader an understanding of life in post-revolution Moscow’
OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD -- ***Soon to be a major TV series starring Kenneth Branagh***
‘This novel is astonishing, uplifting and wise. Don’t miss it’ Chris Cleave
‘No historical novel this year was more witty, insightful or original than Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow’ Sunday Times, Books of the Year
‘Charming … shows that not all books about Russian aristocrats have to be full of doom and nihilism’ The Times, Books of the Year
'[A] supremely uplifting novel ... It's elegant, witty and delightful - much like the Count himself.' Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year
On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov – recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt – is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol.
Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval.
Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?
A BOOK OF THE DECADE, 2010-2020 (INDEPENDENT)
THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
A DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2017
ONE OF BILL GATES'S SUMMER READS OF 2019
NOMINATED FOR THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS WEEK AWARD
ABOUT AUTHOR
Amor Towles is an American novelist. He is best known for his bestselling novels Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow, the latter of which made him a finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize.
Born: 1964 (age 56 years), Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Nationality: American
Genre: Literary fiction
Nominations: Goodreads Choice Awards Best Historical Fiction, Audie Award for Short Stories/Collections
Education: Stanford University, Yale University, Noble and Greenough School, College Place
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