{"product_id":"9781805332206","title":"Days in the Caucasus by Anne Thompson-Ahmadova","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eA rediscovered classic memoir - the scintillatingly witty account of one extraordinary woman's life during a turbulent century\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A voice so vivid it seems impossible that it should ever have been forgotten' \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An effervescent and irreverent feat of recollection and imagination'-\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe all know families that are poor but 'respectable'. Mine, in contrast, was extremely rich but not 'respectable' at all...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the unforgettable memoir of a childhood spent in Azerbaijan in the turbulent early twentieth century, caught between East and West, tradition and modernity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBanine remembers her luxurious home, her beloved German governess and her imperious Muslim grandmother. She recalls how the Bolsheviks came, and how amid revolution and bloodshed she fell passionately in love, only to be forced into marriage with a man she loathed - until the chance of escape arrived...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of Banine's life is both a wry, romantic coming-of-age tale and a touching portrait of a vanished world. It is continued in her companion memoir, \u003ci\u003eParisian Days.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eDAYS IN THE CAUCASUS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'An enchanting memoir' - Jane Shilling, \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This jewel of a memoir, written in 1945 but only now published in English, has all the makings of a Tolstoyan drama' - \u003ci\u003eThe New Internationalist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Banine's autobiography captures a rarefied world on the brink of extinction' - Bryan Karetnyk, \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Banine's consummate prose is marked by undertones of erudite wittiness. Educated and pragmatic, but also hopeful, she expresses wanting nothing more than to be free to pursue self-realization. Days in the Caucasus was published in 1945; this first English translation of the memoir is an absolute joy-full of adventure, travel, and youthful dreams' - \u003ci\u003eForeword Review\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55897646104949,"sku":"9781805332206","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805332206.jpg?v=1757001790","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781805332206","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}