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The Man From St Petersburg

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The Man From St Petersburg

By: Ken Follett
Narrated by: Richard Armitage
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About this listen

Read by Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Missing You)

The Man From St Petersburg is a dark tale of family secrets and political consequences. Ken Follett's masterful storytelling brings to life the danger of a world on the brink of war.

A Secret Negotiation
1914. Tensions are rising as Europe finds itself caught in a web of alliances and dangerous warmongering. To help tip the balance in their favour, Britain aims to draw Russia into an alliance with them instead of Germany. Czar Nicholas’s nephew, Prince Aleksei, is sent to London for secret naval talks with Lord Walden.

A Play for Power
Walden has a personal connection to Aleksei; his wife is Aleksei’s aunt. And they are not the only ones interested in the Russian's arrival; so too are Walden’s wilful, idealistic daughter, the head of Special Branch, and a ruthless Russian anarchist.

A World at War
With the British desperately needing a signed treaty and the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the destinies of these individuals become inextricably linked, as tragedy threatens to shatter the Waldens’ complacency . . .

 20th Century Espionage Historical Historical Fiction Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense World War I Russia Exciting Fiction War Mystery

Critic reviews

Ken Follett has done it once more . . . goes down with the ease and impact of a well-prepared martini
Eerily plausible . . . one of Follett's finest
All stars
Most relevant
I rattled through this story and found it hugely enjoyable and entertaining. I suspect that Ken Follett must have done a lot of research about the events leading up to the Great War and the Suffragette and the Russian anarchist movements before setting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard.) It certainly made for an informative read.

The story is set against the backdrop of the political situation in Europe prior to the First World War and the involvement of Winston Churchill in both the political struggle of the Suffragettes and also the British government's pre-war negotiations with Tsar Nicholas. An aristocrat and ex-politician, the Earl of Walden, is persuaded by Churchill to negotiate with the Tsar's favourite nephew Alexei in order to achieve an Anglo-French-Russian alliance against the re-arming German government. The Earl's wife, Lydia, is Russian and the Tsar's nephew also happens to be her cousin, so all seems set fair for an uneventful negotiation.

But Lydia has a secret past which is unknown to the Earl and their spirited daughter Charlotte develops a keen interest in Votes for Women and social justice when she witnesses a scandalous declaration of support for imprisoned Suffragettes during a debutante presentation ceremony at Court.

Lydia's past life in St.Petersburg comes to haunt her and the Walden family when Feliks, an anarchist sent to kill Alexei and provoke revolution in Russia, discovers her connection to the negotiations and her role in his personal and political misfortunes in the intervening years since they last met. Charlotte, in her burgeoning desire to bring about change within her privileged life and equality within society, becomes embroiled with Feliks and the scene is set for heartbreaking discoveries, fear of discovery, terrorist acts and a shocking conclusion

This was a well-plotted and beautifully characterised novel, told in a sympathetic and spell-binding voice. Richard Armitage, the narrator, has a fantastic range of voices for the male and female characters and it was deeply satisfying to sit back and listen to the story in huge chunks. Just lovely. Top marks on the narration.

What a Great Story

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Very enjoyable book, difficult to put down. Little far fetched in places but good story

Good book

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I absolutely loved this book. He is such a good writer and this didn't disappoint.

wonderful

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Ken Follett has written another very good story combining historical facts with a convincing fictitious story.

Excellent story

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I absolutely loved this, right from the first line. The story line was good and of course Richard Armitage was,as usual, spell binding.
How he does all the accents and the pitch of his voice, you forget it’s just one man.
More please

Brilliant

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