KATIA

by E.M. Almedingen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1967

An unusual book with an unusual history. Catherine Almedingen grew up in Czarist Russia; in 1876 she published the memoirs of her childhood, The Story of a Little Girl, which ""remained an acknowledged classic until the 1917 revolution,"" but was never translated into English. Now her great-niece, the English author E.M. Almedingen, has translated and adapted (and very much shortened) her story. Turn the clock backward to the time of Tolstoy. Here is Katia, at five, arriving with her adoptive Mamma, Cousin Sophie, at the immense household of her cousins in the Ukraine; for all their wealth, the regimen is Spartan, but the children are so busy that they never have time to be bored: there are daily lessons (in French German, history, arithmetic) and daily romps, there are picnics and puppet shows and there is Christmas, an enchanted kingdom. Katia's joy is punctuated by suffering--over the theft of a few plums, the cruel taunts of a clever cousin, the fear of losing her beloved Mamma. When Cousin Sophie dies. Katia returns to her father and his new wife, where she is spoiled and petted and only settles down in time to go off to school. Two aspects are outstanding: the evocation of the quality of life in a variety of high-ranking households, from the most cosmopolitan to the most provincial; and the insight into the spirit of a young girl--loving, selfish, proud, rebellious. This is a beautifully understated book which extends understanding and touches the heart.

Pub Date: March 15, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION