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Historical Notes I hope that City of Silence has inspired readers to learn more about this pivotal time in Russian history, i.e., the thirty years which marked the end of the imperial age and the rise of the Marxist Party. I knew very little about imperial Russia before I began my research – as I suspect is true of most Americans - but quickly fell under the spell of the endlessly fascinating and exasperating Romanov family. The murders of the ballet dancers and the characters of Tatiana, Filip, and Konstantin were entirely fabricated. The fictional character of Cynthia Kirby was named in honor a friend of mine, a lovely woman with most excellent manners, who in no way deserves to be disposed of in such an inelegant manner. In contrast, the tales of the royal families of both Russia and England were largely based on fact. Alix and Nicky truly met when Serge and Ella married, and carried on a long distance courtship to the dismay of both their families before ultimately marrying when she was twenty. The personalities and relationships within the Winter Palace are as close to accurate as I can imagine them, based on letters and diaries from the time. My sins are mostly against the calendar. While Tchaikovsky did have a triumphant tour of Europe, he was not honored in St. Petersburg during that particular summer. Likewise, Vlad was not in St. Petersburg in June of 1889, nor was there an attack on any members of the tsar’s family at that time, although the previous attempts on the tsar’s life and the involvement of Vlad’s brother Sasha are based on fact. For dramatic purposes, I also collapsed the time frame of the courtship between Alix and Nicky, implying that events which occurred months or years apart, actually all happened within a two week period. One aspect of the story which I did not have to adapt for dramatic purposes was the Queen’s reservations toward the men her granddaughters chose as husbands. Victoria did indeed dislike Russia, and used all of her influence in an effort to dissuade her granddaughters from marrying into the Romanov family. Many of the Queen’s quotes are taken directly from her letters. And as history shows us, her fears were well founded. Both Alix and Ella died horribly brutal deaths in 1917 at the dawn of the Bolshevik Revolution. Their murders and those of their families were decreed by none other than the single-minded leader of the Marxist party, Vladimir Lenin.
What’s Next? If you enjoyed City of Silence, look for the first two books in the City of Mystery series: City of Darkness, which takes place in London and explores in the infamous case of Jack the Ripper, and City of Light, which travels to Paris on the eve of the Exposition Universalle, the World’s Fair which introduced the Eiffel Tower. City of Bells, in which the Scotland Yard forensics team will travel to Bombay to defend Aunt Gerry’s first love from a charge of murder, is due in late summer, 2013. To be notified of when it is available, either “like” the City of Mystery page on Facebook or leave your email address at cityofmystery@gmail.com. And I would appreciate any reviews of City of Silence or any of the other books in the City of Mystery series. The link to Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/City-Silence-Mysteryebook/dp/B00B7NHUWU/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2
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City of Silence City of Mystery, Bo
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Prologue June 13, 1889 The Winter P
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windows, and as the light grows, sh
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Chapter One London - The Lawns of W
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Ella and Alix had been among the se
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careful to steer his wife socially
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Chapter Two London - Geraldine Bain
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energetic and practical and free th
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Might it be a poor man?” “Rich
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approval, and he had finally learne
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who certainly know his face. Might
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sympathetically. I would imagine ra
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proper wording.“ “Indeed,” sa
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with the boys she would have to get
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Davy quickly nodded. Emma bit her l
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Filip did not answer her at once. P
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the members of the private guard. B
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“Don’t worry,” one of them ca
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“I believe your husband is a memb
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“I intend to take a photograph,
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Chapter Four London - Scotland Yard
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“Tsesarevich,” Rayley repeated.
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even more troubling one of why he h
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ever happened in Vlad’s life. He
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on that day as he had watched Yulia
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would never know, but he suspected
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the end of these long evenings, he
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But the reality was that the dance
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Besides, Konstantin liked the costu
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the Winter Palace. Tatiana never ch
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“Why would you think they were mu
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cramped berths where the sailors sl
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At precisely nine o’clock the doo
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“Yes Ma’am,” Davy croaked.
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Petersburg or all the changes the y
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“As is often the case,” the Que
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“What’s odd about it?” Trevor
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nothing more than a British widow,
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Chapter Seven St. Petersburg, the W
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masculine pleasures. “It is a lon
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And in that remark, so benign on th
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goose in the vee dropped from the s
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“Do you waltz?” Trevor asked Em
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showed on her face. She wasn’t lo
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Chapter Eight June 18, 1889 The Win
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greet your traveling contingent.”
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“Good heavens, haven’t they tol
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equesting something more bracing th
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Chapter Nine The Streets of St. Pet
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manner of my grandfather, and not m
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notion of a university professor or
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to end the process, dangerous and b
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she had gone to the ballroom? It se
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“No,” Tatiana said. “For you
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Emma stepped toward Konstantin, won
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“I am sorry,” she said. “Why
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“Not accustomed to smoking these
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other direction. “What are you do
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“Or just a desire for more privac
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“It wasn’t like that when I was
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supposed they must take what they c
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“And from there,” said Tom, who
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“We must examine the balcony abov
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At the appointed hour there had bee
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“It is famous? As far away as Lon
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Filip smiled, his eyes glittering w
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until you will see what I mean.”
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killer could have disarmed her afte
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“Alix most certainly shall not wa
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death as a suicide. The crime not o
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“Your sanctuary.” “Yes. My sa
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clearer,” Emma said. “Konstanti
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“All right, let’s wrap this up
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of a crime, whether it lies within
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“There are many explanations for
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Chapter Fourteen The Café of the R
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of having the cover of the performa
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test a woman for this, no way to pr
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might be the eventual undoing of th
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“And did you participate?” “O
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“I just don’t understand what
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“The tsarina,” Alix said, stari
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to the appropriate seat by a Cossac
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Trevor turned in his seat to more c
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imperial family and their guests we
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“Good, for I am bored,” she sai
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Chapter Sixteen The Winter Palace -
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at last paused in front of a rather
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e born for many months.” “If yo
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“Well, you certainly sound Russia
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Another of her jarring changes of s
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of how limited his past education h
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“Why is it good that I shan’t b
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Chapter Seventeen The Winter Palace
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all women wanting to be a princess.
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She never would have met Gerry, the
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“Barely,” said Tom, speaking fo
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to reach for a sweet roll and abrup
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her chair into the circle. “I ass
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committed by the same person, and t
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The Streets of St. Petersburg 6:48
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“Yes,” Davy said, glancing at t
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From there, events had happened exa
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The statement was probably nothing
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Chapter Nineteen The Winter Palace
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not once did it occur to me he was
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Page 218 and 219: your ladies.” He smiled and sippe
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Page 238 and 239: afternoon from the palace police, a
Page 240 and 241: King.” She laughed and responded
Page 242 and 243: The Halls of the Gentlemen’s Encl
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Page 246 and 247: We could run these halls forever an
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Page 250 and 251: Tom was lost. He had been fairly su
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Page 256 and 257: The Grand Ballroom 10:02 PM Tom wat
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Page 262 and 263: you even after that was over, and t
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