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The Lieutenant's Lover
Sweeping epic of adventure and enduring love, from the revolutionary upheaval in Russia to the chaos of post-War Berlin.
Misha is an aristocratic young officer in the army when the Russian revolution sweeps away all his certainties. Tonya is a nurse from an impoverished family in St Petersburg. They should have been bitter enemies; and yet they fall passionately in love. It cannot last, and Misha must flee the country as Tonya faces arrest and possibly death.
Thirty years later, Misha has survived the War and seeks to rebuild his life in the destroyed city of Berlin. Drawn into spying for the British, he learns of a talented female agent from the Soviet quarter. Can it be his lost love? And how will they find each other, as the divide deepens between East and West?
Intensely dramatic, epic in scope, this is a glorious novel of courage, action and ultimately undying hope.
Misha is an aristocratic young officer in the army when the Russian revolution sweeps away all his certainties. Tonya is a nurse from an impoverished family in St Petersburg. They should have been bitter enemies; and yet they fall passionately in love. It cannot last, and Misha must flee the country as Tonya faces arrest and possibly death.
Thirty years later, Misha has survived the War and seeks to rebuild his life in the destroyed city of Berlin. Drawn into spying for the British, he learns of a talented female agent from the Soviet quarter. Can it be his lost love? And how will they find each other, as the divide deepens between East and West?
Intensely dramatic, epic in scope, this is a glorious novel of courage, action and ultimately undying hope.
442 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2006
About the author
Harry Bingham
52 books707 followersHarry Bingham is best known for his Fiona Griffiths crime series, which has drawn rave reviews from critics, authors and readers alike.
If you've read and enjoyed one of Harry's books, make diddle-darn sure that you've signed up to the Fiona Griffiths Readers Club, by hopping right over here:
http://www.harrybingham.com/lev-in-gl...
You'll get a free, lovely welcome gift - and you'll be the very first to know when Fiona Griffiths is back with a further adventure . . .
If you've read and enjoyed one of Harry's books, make diddle-darn sure that you've signed up to the Fiona Griffiths Readers Club, by hopping right over here:
http://www.harrybingham.com/lev-in-gl...
You'll get a free, lovely welcome gift - and you'll be the very first to know when Fiona Griffiths is back with a further adventure . . .
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 28, 2019
Better than expected. A pleasant and immersive book, with a very good, atmospheric and realistic representation of the immediate post-war reality of Germany under the Allied occupation.
Definitely not the most original historical fiction novel ever written (it does, for example, closely recall the vicissitudes of the main characters in the "Bronze Horseman"), and with an ending that feels a bit rushed and not highly credible.
However, it is quite intensely dramatic, generally well written and quite a page turner.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 (I may have been a bit generous in my rating, as I personally love books and movies based on Germany's (and Berlin's in particular) last months of WWII and the first months after the end of the war).
Definitely not the most original historical fiction novel ever written (it does, for example, closely recall the vicissitudes of the main characters in the "Bronze Horseman"), and with an ending that feels a bit rushed and not highly credible.
However, it is quite intensely dramatic, generally well written and quite a page turner.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 (I may have been a bit generous in my rating, as I personally love books and movies based on Germany's (and Berlin's in particular) last months of WWII and the first months after the end of the war).
November 29, 2010
Initially I found this book quite disappointing. After reading Anna Karenina earlier this year I was looking forward to a return to Russia in this book, but Harry Bingham doesn’t do the landscape justice and the vocabulary and description never quite got there: it didn’t feellike Russia. The story also starts off with a string of unbelieveable events, which doesn’t help matters: Misha, a former aristocrat, instantly trusts and takes into his confidence Tonya, a member of the working class, whose cousin is an important figure locally in the revolution and has just been round to seize more of his family’s belongings. Sounds completely realistic to me. Naturally, Misha and Tonya fall in love, but this is portrayed without any preamble or sense of development, so I wasn’t invested in their relationship in any way because it came out of the blue.
Fortunately, this section of the story is quite short and the narrative picks up a great deal once it relocates from revolutionary Russia to post-war Berlin. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction books surrounding the Second World War but I think this is the first one which deals with the aftermath of the conflict rather than the fighting itself, so it was very interesting from that perspective. This second part of the novel follows the separate lives of Misha and Tonya as they try to cope in the ruins of a city governed by four different armies (although only three, the British, the Americans and the Russians, are of any relevance to the book), never giving up hope of finding one another again.
I enjoyed the fact that, after such a swift romance in the initial stage of the novel, Harry Bingham doesn’t give Misha and Tonya an easy ride after this. There are continuous near-misses as the two are almost reunited again only to be foiled by circumstance, and this allowed me to develop the interest in seeing their relationship succeed which was absent from the portion set in Russia. I also liked Bingham’s decision to give both Misha and Tonya lives outside of their love for one another: I find novels where the characters fall in love instantly, are separated after a few months and then spend the rest of their lives waiting for one another deeply unrealistic, so I was happy that the book didn’t go down this route. Instead, Misha and Tonya both marry and have families and, although these are naturally conveniently out of the way by the time the two lovers try to find one another again, I appreciated this nod to realism.
Sadly, I thought that this novel went full-circle: it had a bad beginning, a good middle and reverted to a bad ending. I found the way that Bingham provided a brief historical outline of the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of separation between East and West Germany in the complete absence of any plot to be lazy. It would have been netter if the lapsed time had been implied by a dated chapter heading, as in other places in the novel, or fleshed out so that these events seemed relevant to the characters. Left as it was I thought it was a bit sloppy really. It’s a shame this book was so let down by its introduction and conclusion.
Fortunately, this section of the story is quite short and the narrative picks up a great deal once it relocates from revolutionary Russia to post-war Berlin. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction books surrounding the Second World War but I think this is the first one which deals with the aftermath of the conflict rather than the fighting itself, so it was very interesting from that perspective. This second part of the novel follows the separate lives of Misha and Tonya as they try to cope in the ruins of a city governed by four different armies (although only three, the British, the Americans and the Russians, are of any relevance to the book), never giving up hope of finding one another again.
I enjoyed the fact that, after such a swift romance in the initial stage of the novel, Harry Bingham doesn’t give Misha and Tonya an easy ride after this. There are continuous near-misses as the two are almost reunited again only to be foiled by circumstance, and this allowed me to develop the interest in seeing their relationship succeed which was absent from the portion set in Russia. I also liked Bingham’s decision to give both Misha and Tonya lives outside of their love for one another: I find novels where the characters fall in love instantly, are separated after a few months and then spend the rest of their lives waiting for one another deeply unrealistic, so I was happy that the book didn’t go down this route. Instead, Misha and Tonya both marry and have families and, although these are naturally conveniently out of the way by the time the two lovers try to find one another again, I appreciated this nod to realism.
Sadly, I thought that this novel went full-circle: it had a bad beginning, a good middle and reverted to a bad ending. I found the way that Bingham provided a brief historical outline of the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of separation between East and West Germany in the complete absence of any plot to be lazy. It would have been netter if the lapsed time had been implied by a dated chapter heading, as in other places in the novel, or fleshed out so that these events seemed relevant to the characters. Left as it was I thought it was a bit sloppy really. It’s a shame this book was so let down by its introduction and conclusion.
April 18, 2020
"The Lieutenant's Lover", by Harry Bingham, is a love story with the Soviet revolution and Germany after the WW2 as background. Very interesting. I'm really addicted to it, maybe because I like epic tales.
November 4, 2019
Absolutely delightful! Couldnt put it down!
September 7, 2026
I enjoyed a fair amount of this book but the ending was such a let down. It felt rushed.
April 24, 2018
Although I haven't lived through the horrors of war, I can imagine this story rings true to the pain and suffering of the people, the famine, and the separation. The story centers around a couple and their fight to find each other again - and although triumphant in places and thrilling in others, I felt some parts were lacking. Such as the romance, their early relationship is quickly brushed over meaning the impact of their love doesn't come through. They don't find each other until the very very end of the novel, with some highly frustrating and unbelievable close encounters. This was too stressful for me,and lowered the impact of their reuniting. I also know that this is a historical novel as much as a romance, but the jumps between army speak, Russian, German, made it hard to follow in some places. Overall though there are plenty of sweet moments and plenty of characters I loved to hate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2009
In 1917 Revolutionary Russia, 17yr old Tanya meets aristocrtic Misha, but fate has a way of intervening and the young lovers are separated only to meet again 30 years later. This is a fascinating and well written book. I particulary enjoyed the second part of the story and the description of post war Berlin. I like how all the loose ends were brought together at the end.Enjoyed it.
August 21, 2016
Interesting tale of life in revolutionary Russia and just post-war Germany before the creation of the Berlin Wall. It is a striking tale, but it was slightly annoying that the lovers could only be happy due to the self-effacing nobility of her husband, whose point of view and suffering were not really touched on.
January 16, 2022
I did struggle to keep engaged with this book. Not the usual genre I read but I had really enjoyed the author's Fiona Griffiths series so thought I would try this earlier work. The ongoing star crossed lovers theme is not for me - it seemed to drag on and then resolve itself quite abruptly. An interesting look through the lens of the history of the times though.
November 19, 2011
Phew...an epic story, and a great ending. The book doesn't concentrate on bombs, air raids and so on, but more on the human experiences. In the scenes of snow you can practically feel the coldness. I definitely recommend this book.
February 18, 2014
I did enjoy this book, so well written and intriguing. The fact that he gave much history around the second world war, between the Russians and Germans, made it very interesting. A beautiful love story and a satisfying ending.
December 4, 2011
I love love love this novel. I've read it before and I still adored it. Quickest thick book I've read in a long time!
July 28, 2013
Story line been done a million times..
December 31, 2013
A heartwarming love story that started from the revolutionary Russia, separated by war and lovers finding its way to the post war Berlin. A good read for me as I love history.
February 10, 2014
Heart wrenching
May 31, 2014
Enjoyable read and easy to return to plus very interesting re the Soviet presence in Germany post WW2
September 9, 2014
this book was amazing. I love books set in wartime
September 18, 2015
Far tougher and better historical drama romance than its cover might suggest. Compulsive reading
July 26, 2010
Great story line but I didn't feel a connection to the characters
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July 27, 2011Intensely Dramatic, a novel of courage, action and undying hope.
Wonderful read.
Wonderful read.
March 5, 2013
Well-told but unoriginal tale.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews