Blood Red Snow White

By Marcus Sedgwick

Book Overview

Equal parts thriller, love story, and fairytale, Printz Medal-winning author Marcus Sedgwick's Blood Red Snow White is a gripping, romantic adventure novel based on the true story of Arthur Ransome's experiences with love and betrayal in war-torn Russia.

There never was a story that was happy through and through.

When writer Arthur Ransome leaves his unhappy marriage in England and moves to Russia to work as a journalist, he has little idea of the violent revolution about to erupt. Unwittingly, he finds himself at its center, tapped by the British to report back on the Bolsheviks even as he becomes dangerously, romantically entangled with Leon Trotsky's personal secretary.

Both sides seek to use Arthur to gather and relay information for their own purposes . . . and both grow to suspect him of being a double agent. Arthur wants only to elope far from conflict with his beloved, but her Russian ties make leaving the country nearly impossible. And the more Arthur resists becoming a pawn, the more entrenched in the game he seems to become.

Blood Red Snow White, a Soviet-era thriller about the author of the Swallows and Amazons series, from renowned Printz award winning author Marcus Sedgwick, is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Sedgwick masterfully evokes the tumultuous atmosphere of Russia leading up to the creation of the communist Soviet Union, with colorful depictions of major historical figures like the Romanov tsar and tsarina, Grigori Rasputin, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin.

Marcus Sedgwick is the author of Saint Death, The Ghosts of Heaven, She Is Not Invisible, Midwinterblood, White Crow, and Revolver.

Praise for Blood Red Snow White:
"Sedgwick uses vivid, fairy tale imagery to describe historical events." --Publishers Weekly

"Drenched in atmosphere, [Blood Red Snow White] gives vivid depictions of snowy Russia . . ., eerie portrayals of Rasputin and the czar's family, and the rise of Trotsky and Lenin. . . . trademark Sedgwick envelope-pushing." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Marcus Sedgwick:
"Sedgwick is one of the most sophisticated, thought-provoking voices in YA novels." --Booklist on The Ghosts of Heaven

This title has Common Core connections.

Novels by Marcus Sedgwick:
Saint Death: A propulsive, compelling, and unsparing novel set in the grimly violent world of the human and drug trade on the US-Mexican border.
Blood Red Snow White: A gripping, romantic adventure novel based on the true story of Arthur Ransome's experiences with love and betrayal in war-torn Russia.
The Ghosts of Heaven: A Printz Honor Book! Timeless, beautiful, and haunting, spirals connect four episodes, from prehistory through the far future.
She Is Not Invisible: When her father goes missing, a blind girl talented in identifying patterns and her brother are thrust into a mystery.
Midwinterblood: A Printz Medal Winner! Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined.
White Crow: A scary, thought provoking novel about secrets that are better left buried.
Revolver: A Printz Honor Book! A taut frontier survivor story, set at the time of the Alaska gold rush.

Graphic novel by Marcus Sedgwick, art by Thomas Taylor:
Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter: A rip-roaring romp full of hairy horrors, villainous villains, and introducing the world's toughest monster hunter--Scarlett Hart!

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 125012963X
• ISBN13: 9781250129635
• Release Date: December 2017
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 7 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Part history, part fairy tale

This book combines the Russian fairy tales of Arthur Ransome with a novelised account of his time in Russia. I know that sounds dull (I am clearly not the writer Sedgewick is!), and this book is decidedly not dull! Whisked away to a Russia on the verge of revolution, the reader is entranced by fairy tales, spies, palaces and revolutonaries-- and true love. Suitable for readers from around 10 up, this is also a great book for adults.