I'm almost sorry to find out there is a sequel to Masha ... it took me forever to get the first book through inter-library loan. :) ( )

Another childhood favorite. Sequel to Masha, and I was randomly compelled to re-read them both recently. They hold up well. This book has much more history than the first. It's about the 1825 Decembrist uprising (one of the lesser-known and much less successful Russian revolutions; very much like the group in Les Miserables) and includes many real-life figures as characters. Not much is known about the author, who was originally from Russia, but I'm guessing she was White Russian aristocracy. The sympathy is all with the royals rather than the rebels. It's an unusual angle, but still an interesting one. The love triangle is transparent but some of the friendships are remarkably layered. ( )