What do you think?
Rate this book
Olga's Story: Three Continents, Two World Wars and Revolution--One Woman's Epic Journey Through the Twentieth Century
When Canadian journalist Stephanie Williams set out to discover her Russian grandmother’s long-lost history, what she unearthed was this stunning, sprawling portrait of a life lived on the grand stage of the 20th century.
Born in remote Siberia in 1900, Olga Yunter was the youngest of five children. As a teenager during the Revolution, she was a courier and arms-runner for the White Russians. After learning of the execution of her brother at the hands of the Red Army, which drew nearer every day, her father sent her to China with rubies and gold sewn into her petticoats. She would never see her family again.
The life of a Russian exile in China meant poverty and fear. But Olga was lucky. She met and married Fred Edney, and gave birth to their daughter, Irina, the author’s mother. But the creeping Japanese occupation and invasion of China forced Olga to flee with Irina to Canada, leaving Fred behind to continue working. For five years she heard almost nothing of her husband, save that he was alive in a Japanese prison camp. At the end of the war she returned to China to find him broken by his internment. The family was driven out of the country for good by the Chinese Revolution in 1949. They settled in Oxford, where Olga and Fred lived out the rest of their days.
Drawing on letters, diaries, government documents, and interviews, Stephanie Williams brings to life this gripping historical drama, sweeping in scope and illuminated by the intimate details of one woman’s extraordinary life.
Born in remote Siberia in 1900, Olga Yunter was the youngest of five children. As a teenager during the Revolution, she was a courier and arms-runner for the White Russians. After learning of the execution of her brother at the hands of the Red Army, which drew nearer every day, her father sent her to China with rubies and gold sewn into her petticoats. She would never see her family again.
The life of a Russian exile in China meant poverty and fear. But Olga was lucky. She met and married Fred Edney, and gave birth to their daughter, Irina, the author’s mother. But the creeping Japanese occupation and invasion of China forced Olga to flee with Irina to Canada, leaving Fred behind to continue working. For five years she heard almost nothing of her husband, save that he was alive in a Japanese prison camp. At the end of the war she returned to China to find him broken by his internment. The family was driven out of the country for good by the Chinese Revolution in 1949. They settled in Oxford, where Olga and Fred lived out the rest of their days.
Drawing on letters, diaries, government documents, and interviews, Stephanie Williams brings to life this gripping historical drama, sweeping in scope and illuminated by the intimate details of one woman’s extraordinary life.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
16 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 30, 2014
A remarkable account of Olga and her family's life from 1900 in a remote frontier post in Southern Siberia.
I love Russian history and love the " Good reads book recommendations" as I am always finding something new to read. I especially loved this book as there are so many historical facts dates and interesting places mentioned and yet the story flows like fiction and this kept me engrossed in the book.
This is a an excellent description of Russian life and the terror of revolution and excile. The horror and fear experienced by ordinary people is well documented in this book.
I learned so much from this book as I knew nothing about all the Russians that fled to china. This book gives an excellent account of one woman's life loss and heartbreak.
I felt a wonderful connection with Olga and this is down to the authors ability to write Olga's story with feeling and emotions and while this reads like fiction, you were very aware that this was a true account of the authors grandmother life and what a well written and researched account it is.
I would recommend this for lovers of Russian history who like a good story but also want an account of Russian history with historical facts and dates.
It took me quite a long time to read this book and that was because I kept stopping to Google places and people named in the book. However I came away from this story with a feeling that I leaned something new in history and that is the very reason I read books like this. I would advise getting your hands on a paperback copy of this book as opposed to kindle version as there are great maps and photos included which are important to the story but don't work great on kindle.
The soldier in a trench feels powerless, his spirit broken, seeing the number of his fellow soldiers falling continuously and no reinforcements.
I love Russian history and love the " Good reads book recommendations" as I am always finding something new to read. I especially loved this book as there are so many historical facts dates and interesting places mentioned and yet the story flows like fiction and this kept me engrossed in the book.
This is a an excellent description of Russian life and the terror of revolution and excile. The horror and fear experienced by ordinary people is well documented in this book.
I learned so much from this book as I knew nothing about all the Russians that fled to china. This book gives an excellent account of one woman's life loss and heartbreak.
I felt a wonderful connection with Olga and this is down to the authors ability to write Olga's story with feeling and emotions and while this reads like fiction, you were very aware that this was a true account of the authors grandmother life and what a well written and researched account it is.
I would recommend this for lovers of Russian history who like a good story but also want an account of Russian history with historical facts and dates.
It took me quite a long time to read this book and that was because I kept stopping to Google places and people named in the book. However I came away from this story with a feeling that I leaned something new in history and that is the very reason I read books like this. I would advise getting your hands on a paperback copy of this book as opposed to kindle version as there are great maps and photos included which are important to the story but don't work great on kindle.
The soldier in a trench feels powerless, his spirit broken, seeing the number of his fellow soldiers falling continuously and no reinforcements.
September 5, 2019
Olga Yunter was born in the summer of 1900 in a small trading outpost on the Siberian steppes. and ahd a happy childhood there, living a life experiencing the rich culture of the many nations that lived in the region.
But as millions of lives were lost in the bloody Russian Revolution of 1917, Olga and her family were caught up in her struggle to save the town from the marauding bloodthirsty Bolsheviks. Olga, with a price on her head for anti-Bolshevik activities was forced to flee Russia for northern China.
She lost her home three times- first to the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, then to the Japanese invasion of China during World War II, and finally to the brutal takeover of China in the late 1940s by the
Communists.
We learn of the life of her Olga from her childhood in Siberia, where she married an Englishman and lived through invasion and civil war. A rich and eventful life on four continents told told by compassion and passion by the heroine of this true story's granddaughter.
Interesting things we can glean from this book is that a large proportion of the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War (1918-1920) were German and Austrian prisoners of war. The Bolsheviks were from the beginning a movement against the Russian people.
That the Bolsheviks were the first to use cattle cars to transport people to labour camps and forced exile, and that there were various different foreign communities in the northern Chinese town of Tientsin were Olga and her family lived for some years.
The story of a remarkable woman living through earth-shattering and bloody events, and about experiences with people from all different walks of life and the many different nations and traditions with which she came into contact.
But as millions of lives were lost in the bloody Russian Revolution of 1917, Olga and her family were caught up in her struggle to save the town from the marauding bloodthirsty Bolsheviks. Olga, with a price on her head for anti-Bolshevik activities was forced to flee Russia for northern China.
She lost her home three times- first to the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, then to the Japanese invasion of China during World War II, and finally to the brutal takeover of China in the late 1940s by the
Communists.
We learn of the life of her Olga from her childhood in Siberia, where she married an Englishman and lived through invasion and civil war. A rich and eventful life on four continents told told by compassion and passion by the heroine of this true story's granddaughter.
Interesting things we can glean from this book is that a large proportion of the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War (1918-1920) were German and Austrian prisoners of war. The Bolsheviks were from the beginning a movement against the Russian people.
That the Bolsheviks were the first to use cattle cars to transport people to labour camps and forced exile, and that there were various different foreign communities in the northern Chinese town of Tientsin were Olga and her family lived for some years.
The story of a remarkable woman living through earth-shattering and bloody events, and about experiences with people from all different walks of life and the many different nations and traditions with which she came into contact.
October 22, 2012
this is a fascinating story of Olga's life and history from Siberia, via China to the UK with the Russian revolution, WWI and WWII. Especially interesting as my maternal great grandmother and grandmother had a very similar experience....from Latvia, via Odessa, the TransSiberian railway into China...my grandmother married an Englishman there and lived in China until 1940 or so...she was captured by the Japanese and spent some years as a prisoner in the Phillipines before being liberated by the Americans and going to live in the USA>
One of the things that seemed so poignant was the way these displaced people picked themselves up and got on with their lives, wherever they were and in the face on very uncertain times and conditions.
It has given me a real insight into the sort of life my grandmother and my mum must have had....a really interesting read and gives much needed insight also into the Russian revolution and also the war that happened in the Far East.
One of the things that seemed so poignant was the way these displaced people picked themselves up and got on with their lives, wherever they were and in the face on very uncertain times and conditions.
It has given me a real insight into the sort of life my grandmother and my mum must have had....a really interesting read and gives much needed insight also into the Russian revolution and also the war that happened in the Far East.
December 13, 2024
A very interesting book about life in Siberia before the revolution and the white army and subsequent disintegration of life in the region during the civil war. It also covered life for Russian emigres in China in the 20’s and 30’s which was very detailed, I learned a lot about this side of Russian history.
April 5, 2009
Wasn't at all as interesting and gripping as it could have been. The first 200 pages were muddled and kept going from here to there with ahrdly any flow. The last 250-300 pages were good and interesting. Not something i would recommend.
July 4, 2018
Great read. What a story and life, and what a courageous woman Olga must have been. This is truly a must read book for anyone interested in 20th century history, and what shaped the migration of people.
October 20, 2020
I learned so much about the early 20th Century. Olga was a fascinating and strong woman. Worth the read.
September 9, 2024
Olga's life began in 1900 in Siberia, a part of the world I only pictured as a destination for exiled prisoners or enemies of the powers that ruled Russia. Not so!! She lived a wonderful life with her family, a prosperous father who traded furs and gold, etc. with merchants from China, Mongolia, and all parts of Russia. They had a cook, housemaid, driver, and others who were really a part of their family and enriched their lives. Life was good! Sadly, her nurturing mother died when Olga was only 13, but they carried on.
Unfortunately, fighting between the Red and White Russians after the Bolshevik Revolution destroyed everything she and her family held dear. Her brothers in the military (on the "right" side) brought suspicion on the rest of her family, and her life was in danger. When she was 18, she fled in the night to Vladivostok on her own.
After barely a year at university in Vladivostok, she had to flee to China, leaving behind her dreams of graduating. She also left the chance of ever seeing her loved ones again. She joined thousands of fellow refugees in Tientsin in northern China, struggling to build a life in a new country. She met her future husband (a British citizen) and found a tenuous security for a few years. Her husband worked for a worldwide cigarette factory in Tientsin. But in 1937, Japan invaded China. Olga, her husband and their daughter had to flee to a somewhat safer Shanghai.
WWII was next in the disruption of their lives. She and their daughter fled to live with friends in Vancouver, but her husband was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp in China. Understandably, he was never the same.
One just wanted Olga to find peace, happiness and stability. I so admired her unending resourcefulness in far too many horrendous, often life-threatening situations. She had the fortitude, good humor, intelligence and perseverance to pick up and start over and over and over and over again!
Olga's Story is written by her granddaughter, piecing together so much history and describing all of the events, lifestyles and countries, their citizens and traditions; it's truly amazing in its scope and factual details. I am so impressed with this book, and I highly recommend it for its excellent and good read!!
Unfortunately, fighting between the Red and White Russians after the Bolshevik Revolution destroyed everything she and her family held dear. Her brothers in the military (on the "right" side) brought suspicion on the rest of her family, and her life was in danger. When she was 18, she fled in the night to Vladivostok on her own.
After barely a year at university in Vladivostok, she had to flee to China, leaving behind her dreams of graduating. She also left the chance of ever seeing her loved ones again. She joined thousands of fellow refugees in Tientsin in northern China, struggling to build a life in a new country. She met her future husband (a British citizen) and found a tenuous security for a few years. Her husband worked for a worldwide cigarette factory in Tientsin. But in 1937, Japan invaded China. Olga, her husband and their daughter had to flee to a somewhat safer Shanghai.
WWII was next in the disruption of their lives. She and their daughter fled to live with friends in Vancouver, but her husband was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp in China. Understandably, he was never the same.
One just wanted Olga to find peace, happiness and stability. I so admired her unending resourcefulness in far too many horrendous, often life-threatening situations. She had the fortitude, good humor, intelligence and perseverance to pick up and start over and over and over and over again!
Olga's Story is written by her granddaughter, piecing together so much history and describing all of the events, lifestyles and countries, their citizens and traditions; it's truly amazing in its scope and factual details. I am so impressed with this book, and I highly recommend it for its excellent and good read!!
January 1, 2018
Stranger than fiction
August 20, 2020
Very interesting if very depressing read.
November 8, 2020
Fascinating re the impact of the Russian revolution on ordinary people and of the Japanese invasion of China
May 3, 2014
Beautifully detailed description of life in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Russian Civil War and its aftermath from the perspective of someone lucky enough to escape. Olga was an ordinary woman who led an extraordinary life, having "lost everything" three times: when the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, when the Japanese invaded Manchuria, and when the Communists took over China. One can learn much about life from this honestly told story, masterfully and lovingly crafted by Olga's granddaughter.
April 7, 2015
Very interesting read. Once the revolution begins, the pace really picks up. Very interesting, tragic and inspiring. I was very sad to find out that Olga and Lydia never saw or contacted one another again after 1933. I can only imagine the hardships Lydia endured. Olga's were bad enough. If you are a fan of the Kate Furnivall "Russian Concubine" series, you might like this book, though it is non-fiction. The kind of book which makes me count my blessings once I've finished. I definitely recommend "Olga's Story".
August 19, 2015
what an amazing job this author accomplished in researching and recreating her maternal grandmother's life and embedding it within an engaging narrative.
from a privileged childhood in a remote Siberian outpost, Olga experiences WWI and the Russian Revolution, fleeing the country for safety and leaving behind all she knows and loves, including her family. and with WWII, a similar flight for safety from her home in Tientsin, China to Canada and later from Shanghai to England.
this is the story of resourcefulness and resilience and adaptation.
from a privileged childhood in a remote Siberian outpost, Olga experiences WWI and the Russian Revolution, fleeing the country for safety and leaving behind all she knows and loves, including her family. and with WWII, a similar flight for safety from her home in Tientsin, China to Canada and later from Shanghai to England.
this is the story of resourcefulness and resilience and adaptation.
July 4, 2009
I found this book compelling. It's about the life of the author's grandmother, Olga Yunter, and how she survived two world wars and revolution in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Siberia in 1900, Olga was witness to the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Japanese invasian of China during WWII, and finally the communist takeover of China in the late 1940's. It's a bio filled with history and drama and poignantly written.
August 4, 2008
I loved this book. It took me so long to read it, but once I got going, it was wonderful. I'm just so fascinated by the idea that one woman could have been involved and experienced through her immediate family with two world wars, two communist revolutions, and lived on three continents. This is a cool story.
April 16, 2012
Well written book, full of history of the world wars. I found the history heavy at times but fascinating too. Olga's tenacity throughout her life is encouraging. The characters are well developed and there is even a family tree and map at the beginning to keep track of everyone - and the complicated names. I would recomend it but not a quick read.
March 26, 2014
Wow what a story. I have to say that it was slow to start for me and I found some of the description of what was happening in Siberia/Russia at the start a bit slow and in some respects not detailed enough/the history wasn't well described, but the story really came to life when she moved to China. A fascinating biography through Russia and China in the 20th century - well worth a read.
March 18, 2013
This narrative does indeed read like a novel. Olga story is extraordinary. I was amazed at Olga's life and her granddaughters talent and passion is she pieced the story together. I'll read it again for the details of revolution, war and exile.
December 2, 2007
Wonderful epic story about one woman's experiences through two wars and life in Siberia. Another perspective to WW2. Better than fiction.
April 22, 2012
I learned plenty about Siberia and did not realise that the Russians had to flee to China and live there to try and escape the communistic regimes take-over. Good read.
March 5, 2014
Um relato surpreendente sobre a saga de uma brava mulher em um dos períodos mais conturbados da história.
August 7, 2014
Remarkable journey
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews