The Bronze Horseman (book)
Encyclopedia
The Bronze Horseman is the first book in the Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simons
.
. Tatiana Metanova, nearly seventeen, meets the handsome and mysterious Red Army
officer Alexander Belov. The relationship between Tatiana and Alexander develops against the backdrop of the Siege of Leningrad
and in the face of many difficulties.
announces Germany has invaded the Soviet Union. Tatiana's parents send her twin brother Pasha to a boys' camp so that the army won't draft him. Tatiana, who is young and naive, is excited by the war. While her family focuses on sending Pasha safely away, Tatiana is entrusted with buying food and supplies. Unable to find much to buy, she buys a scoop of ice-cream, causing her to miss her bus. While waiting for the next bus, she notices a red army officer watching her, and he eventually crosses the street and introduces himself as lieutenant Alexander Belov.
After an embarrassed introduction, Alexander and Tatiana become attracted to one another and he helps her buy food at the Officers' store. Alexander's irritating friend Dimitri insists on helping them carry the boxes home. When they arrive at Tatiana's apartment, they discover he is the man Dasha has fallen in love with. Tatiana is disappointed but doesn't want to come between him and her sister. However, Alexander visits her the following day, meeting her outside of the Kirov
factory where she works. After a few weeks of walking her home, Alexander and Tatiana's attraction is undeniable. Still, Tatiana begs Alexander to stay with Dasha and not break her sister's heart. Alexander and Tatiana's bond grows deeper as Alexander tells her he is an American who emigrated with his parents, now dead, in 1930. After a few weeks, Alexander, who is annoyed at Tatiana's unwillingness to fight for him, breaks up with Dasha and stops visiting the Metanovs and Tatiana.
The Metanovs are heartbroken over Pasha, as they cannot get through to the camp and hear reports it has been under fire. Tatiana overhears her parents saying that they would have preferred to lose Tania and decides to volunteer at the front in order to find Pasha and bring him home. When she arrives at the Luga front, the boy's camp is empty. Tatiana takes refuge in a building that is bombed and is seriously injured. Dasha asks Alexander to find her, and he takes Tatiana back to Leningrad, sharing their first kiss on the way.
In Leningrad, it becomes clear that Alexander cannot stay away, but Tatiana refuses to tell Dasha about their relationship. A drunk Alexander visits Tatiana in her her hospital room one night, and they become more intimate. Alexander tells Tatiana about his parents and how he came to live under a false name - and that Dimitri is aware of his true identity. Tatiana's grandparents evacuate to Molotov
, but Tatiana is unable to travel because of her broken leg, meaning that she, Dasha, and her parents are trapped in the city during the Siege of Leningrad
.
The scarcity of food and the harsh winter kill numerous people, including most of the Metanovs. Dasha, after months of being oblivious, reveals to Tatiana that she is aware of the relationship between her and Alexander. Ultimately, with only Dasha and Tatiana still alive and both in poor health, Alexander finds a convoy to evacuate the sisters out of Leningrad
. In order to keep his promise to Tatiana not to hurt Dasha, Alexander agrees to Dasha's demand to tell her that he has loved Dasha and never Tatiana. After Dasha and Tatiana make the trip safely to Kobona, Dasha dies of consumption. Tatiana buries her sister in an ice hole and travels to Lazarevo to find her grandparents.
Months later Alexander is worried about Tatiana and Dasha, having received no word from them. After receiving a month's furlough
, he travels to Lazarevo, where he finds Tatiana, learns of Dasha's fate, and finds out that Tatiana had lost both her grandparents and was recovering from tuberculosis and pneumonia. Tatiana is distrustful and eventually reveals during an argument that she was not sure if he really loved her or Dasha. Alexander and Tatiana make up and later make love for the first time. The next morning, Alexander asks her to marry him, and they do so on her 18th birthday. They spend a month together in a cabin in the woods near Lazarevo, before Alexander must return to the front.
Tatiana, worried after not hearing from Alexander, goes back to Leningrad to find him. After finding out that he is safe, she stays and works as a nurse at Grechesky Hospital in Leningrad, wanting to stay near him. Alexander is upset and tries to dissuade her but fails. He returns to the front, threatened by the possibility that Dimitri might find about his secret marriage to Tatiana and turn him in to the NKVD in revenge.
Alexander, by now promoted to major, is injured on the front while trying to save Dr. Matthew Sayers, an American Red Cross doctor with whom Tatiana has been working. Tatiana convinces the doctor to operate on him and donates blood to save Alexander, considered a hopeless case. She triumphs and Alexander lives; for his actions, he receives the Hero of the Soviet Union
medal. Tatiana then asks Sayers to help them leave the Soviet Union, with her posing as a Red Cross nurse and Alexander as a Finnish POW
. Alexander is concerned about the dangers of this plan, especially after finding out that she is pregnant.
Dimitri visits Alexander as he convalesces and reveals that he knows about the marriage; he threatens to tell the NKVD
about Alexander's past if he does not allow Dimitri to flee the Soviet Union with them. Dimitri later demands that Tatiana be left behind, ostensibly because she might slow them down, but in fact to drive the couple apart. Alexander refuses and loses his temper, punching Dimitri and almost killing him before hospital staff intervene. Aware that his arrest is imminent, and in a desperate attempt to save Tatiana, he begs Sayers to tell her he has died while being transported to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, so that she would leave without him. Alexander says a final goodbye to the unaware Tatiana, telling her to 'remember Orbeli'.
After Dr. Sayers tells Tatiana of Alexander's supposed fate, Tatiana refuses to believe it, but is eventually persuaded and agrees to leave with Sayers and with Dimitri posing as the Finn. When Dimitri is recognized by the border guards, a firefight kills Dimitri and the guards on both sides of the border, while severely wounding Dr. Sayers. An injured Tatiana drives herself and the doctor to Helsinki, where he dies of his injuries. She then leaves for Stockholm
, where she stays for several months before traveling by ship to America. Tatiana arrives in Ellis Island
in June of 1943 and goes into early labor, giving birth to a baby boy whom she names Anthony Alexander Barrington, after his father.
as director. Producing has not begun yet, though the author's script is finished.
Paullina Simons
Paullina Simons is the international best-selling author of the novels Tully, Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, Tatiana and Alexander, Lily and The Summer Garden.-Background:...
.
Plot summary
The book begins on 22 June 1941, the day Russia enters the Second World War after Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Tatiana Metanova, nearly seventeen, meets the handsome and mysterious Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
officer Alexander Belov. The relationship between Tatiana and Alexander develops against the backdrop of the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
and in the face of many difficulties.
Synopsis
Tatiana Metanova wakes up on 22 June 1941, the day before her 17th birthday, to her older sister Dasha coming home and declaring that she is in love. That same morning, Vyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
announces Germany has invaded the Soviet Union. Tatiana's parents send her twin brother Pasha to a boys' camp so that the army won't draft him. Tatiana, who is young and naive, is excited by the war. While her family focuses on sending Pasha safely away, Tatiana is entrusted with buying food and supplies. Unable to find much to buy, she buys a scoop of ice-cream, causing her to miss her bus. While waiting for the next bus, she notices a red army officer watching her, and he eventually crosses the street and introduces himself as lieutenant Alexander Belov.
After an embarrassed introduction, Alexander and Tatiana become attracted to one another and he helps her buy food at the Officers' store. Alexander's irritating friend Dimitri insists on helping them carry the boxes home. When they arrive at Tatiana's apartment, they discover he is the man Dasha has fallen in love with. Tatiana is disappointed but doesn't want to come between him and her sister. However, Alexander visits her the following day, meeting her outside of the Kirov
Kirov
-People:*Nikolay Kirov , Soviet track and field athlete*Sergey Kirov , Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet communist-Things named after Sergey Kirov:*Kirov Plant, St. Petersburg, Russia...
factory where she works. After a few weeks of walking her home, Alexander and Tatiana's attraction is undeniable. Still, Tatiana begs Alexander to stay with Dasha and not break her sister's heart. Alexander and Tatiana's bond grows deeper as Alexander tells her he is an American who emigrated with his parents, now dead, in 1930. After a few weeks, Alexander, who is annoyed at Tatiana's unwillingness to fight for him, breaks up with Dasha and stops visiting the Metanovs and Tatiana.
The Metanovs are heartbroken over Pasha, as they cannot get through to the camp and hear reports it has been under fire. Tatiana overhears her parents saying that they would have preferred to lose Tania and decides to volunteer at the front in order to find Pasha and bring him home. When she arrives at the Luga front, the boy's camp is empty. Tatiana takes refuge in a building that is bombed and is seriously injured. Dasha asks Alexander to find her, and he takes Tatiana back to Leningrad, sharing their first kiss on the way.
In Leningrad, it becomes clear that Alexander cannot stay away, but Tatiana refuses to tell Dasha about their relationship. A drunk Alexander visits Tatiana in her her hospital room one night, and they become more intimate. Alexander tells Tatiana about his parents and how he came to live under a false name - and that Dimitri is aware of his true identity. Tatiana's grandparents evacuate to Molotov
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
, but Tatiana is unable to travel because of her broken leg, meaning that she, Dasha, and her parents are trapped in the city during the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
.
The scarcity of food and the harsh winter kill numerous people, including most of the Metanovs. Dasha, after months of being oblivious, reveals to Tatiana that she is aware of the relationship between her and Alexander. Ultimately, with only Dasha and Tatiana still alive and both in poor health, Alexander finds a convoy to evacuate the sisters out of Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. In order to keep his promise to Tatiana not to hurt Dasha, Alexander agrees to Dasha's demand to tell her that he has loved Dasha and never Tatiana. After Dasha and Tatiana make the trip safely to Kobona, Dasha dies of consumption. Tatiana buries her sister in an ice hole and travels to Lazarevo to find her grandparents.
Months later Alexander is worried about Tatiana and Dasha, having received no word from them. After receiving a month's furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
, he travels to Lazarevo, where he finds Tatiana, learns of Dasha's fate, and finds out that Tatiana had lost both her grandparents and was recovering from tuberculosis and pneumonia. Tatiana is distrustful and eventually reveals during an argument that she was not sure if he really loved her or Dasha. Alexander and Tatiana make up and later make love for the first time. The next morning, Alexander asks her to marry him, and they do so on her 18th birthday. They spend a month together in a cabin in the woods near Lazarevo, before Alexander must return to the front.
Tatiana, worried after not hearing from Alexander, goes back to Leningrad to find him. After finding out that he is safe, she stays and works as a nurse at Grechesky Hospital in Leningrad, wanting to stay near him. Alexander is upset and tries to dissuade her but fails. He returns to the front, threatened by the possibility that Dimitri might find about his secret marriage to Tatiana and turn him in to the NKVD in revenge.
Alexander, by now promoted to major, is injured on the front while trying to save Dr. Matthew Sayers, an American Red Cross doctor with whom Tatiana has been working. Tatiana convinces the doctor to operate on him and donates blood to save Alexander, considered a hopeless case. She triumphs and Alexander lives; for his actions, he receives the Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
medal. Tatiana then asks Sayers to help them leave the Soviet Union, with her posing as a Red Cross nurse and Alexander as a Finnish POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. Alexander is concerned about the dangers of this plan, especially after finding out that she is pregnant.
Dimitri visits Alexander as he convalesces and reveals that he knows about the marriage; he threatens to tell the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
about Alexander's past if he does not allow Dimitri to flee the Soviet Union with them. Dimitri later demands that Tatiana be left behind, ostensibly because she might slow them down, but in fact to drive the couple apart. Alexander refuses and loses his temper, punching Dimitri and almost killing him before hospital staff intervene. Aware that his arrest is imminent, and in a desperate attempt to save Tatiana, he begs Sayers to tell her he has died while being transported to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, so that she would leave without him. Alexander says a final goodbye to the unaware Tatiana, telling her to 'remember Orbeli'.
After Dr. Sayers tells Tatiana of Alexander's supposed fate, Tatiana refuses to believe it, but is eventually persuaded and agrees to leave with Sayers and with Dimitri posing as the Finn. When Dimitri is recognized by the border guards, a firefight kills Dimitri and the guards on both sides of the border, while severely wounding Dr. Sayers. An injured Tatiana drives herself and the doctor to Helsinki, where he dies of his injuries. She then leaves for Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where she stays for several months before traveling by ship to America. Tatiana arrives in Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
in June of 1943 and goes into early labor, giving birth to a baby boy whom she names Anthony Alexander Barrington, after his father.
Film adaptation
A film version was in development as of June 2011, with Andy TennantAndy Tennant
Andy Tennant is an American screenwriter, film and television director, and dancer.-Life and career:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Tennant was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was Don Tennant, a legendary creative advertising talent with Leo Burnett Agency in Chicago...
as director. Producing has not begun yet, though the author's script is finished.