The Rasputin Dagger

by Theresa Breslin

Shortlisted for the Historical Association's Young Quills Award 2018

Russia, 1916.

Nina Ivanovna’s world is in turmoil. Her only hope is to travel to St Petersburg, to escape the past and find a future.

Stefan Kolodin is a medical student – young and idealistic, he wants change for Russia and its people.

Amidst the chaos of a city in revolt, their lives collide. And a stormy relationship develops . . . full of passion and politics.

But soon Nina is drawn in to the glamorous, lavish lives of the Russian royal family – where she begins to fall under the spell of their mysterious monk, Grigory Rasputin. The ruby-studded dagger he carries – beautiful and deadly – could save her and Stefan from a cursed life

. . . or condemn them to it.

‘An outstanding writer – simply superb’ Independent

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Russia, Fiction, Romanovs

ebook

Published August 10, 2017

About the author

Theresa Breslin is a Scottish author of over 50 books, known for her contributions to children's and young adult literature. She won the Carnegie Medal in 1994 for Whispers in the Graveyard, which tells the story of a dyslexic boy overcoming personal struggles. Born and raised in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, she started writing as a teenager and later worked as a librarian before becoming a full-time author.

Her works often explore historical and social themes, as seen in Divided City (2005), which addresses sectarianism in Glasgow, and The Medici Seal (2006), a historical novel featuring Leonardo da Vinci. Her book Prisoner of the Inquisition (2010) was shortlisted for another Carnegie Medal.
Breslin has received numerous accolades, including the Scottish Book Trust's Outstanding Achievement Award and an Honorary Fellowship from the Association for Scottish Literary Studies. In 2019, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature.

Reviews

[Ashleigh Blignaut · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good! I don’t know why it doesn’t have a higher rating.

I think the only thing it lacks is more complex characters (each character gets one trait and that’s it) but it makes up for it in the accuracy of the details from the Russian revolution.

I like how the romance isn’t the central part of the novel, which I’m sure is true to life if you’re in the middle of a bloody revolution.

Would recommend to anyone who is also hyper fixating on the Russian revolution.

I liked the pacing of it, especially after reading so many Sad Girl Books where all they do is sit around and think about how depressed they are. Something was always happening in this book.

[Christina Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up from the library after searching for another of Theresa Breslin's books which wasn't in stock and wondering how I missed this one before - the Russian Revolution is such a fascinating time in history and the story of the Romanovs still captures imaginations so powerfully!
From what I know of the period, the historical setting is quite accurate, as well as the descriptions of the royal family. I loved Stefan as a character as well as the friends around him. Nina was also great, although I wasn't entirely sold on their romance as it seemed that their hate-to-love arc was mostly hate until people around them decided that it meant that they were actually in love. Nina's secret was also a bit unrealistic, but certainly ramped up the tension!
Overall, I really enjoyed this but felt a bit let-down by the ending.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit meh. I had high hopes since I LOVE Russian history but this just didn’t deliver for me. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t TERRIBLE, but it also want amazing. It was just a bit slow & poorly written at times. It was very historically accurate though which I really appreciated! I enjoyed learning more about Russian history which is I think what saved the book for me.

All that being said, I did borrow it from my library so I don’t regret reading it, I just don’t know if I’d recommend it to others

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun way to learn more about Russia’s political and economical state during World War One BUT a historical recount is not what is advertised in the blurb. I was able to fly through this pretty easily because I’ve studied this period of time ruthlessly and find it really interesting, however in terms of originality and character development, it falls very short. Most of the characters felt superficial, glazed over and largely got lost in the waves of historical information that was constantly being thrown out. It’d describe this book as an embellished timeline of Russia from 1905-1918 with a dash of artistic licensing thrown in every now and then. However, I will say that it’s incredibly historically accurate which makes the history buff in me happy but I still remain deprived in terms of an gripping ya read

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable story about Russia at the time of World War One and the Revolution.
Nina and her father live in Siberia. Nina's mother died years ago and she has been educated by her father in order to help him run their estate. When the father dies, Nina leaves home and finds Dr. K, who knew her parents, and ends up living with the doctor, his housekeeper and Stefan. The people get poorer and soon there are murmurings of revolution, with the promise of Lenin's return to the mother country. Nina's life takes a few interesting turns as she investigates her parents' lives, with surprising results. The clueless ruling family, the Romanovs, are captured and eventually murdered as traitors. Nina inherits Rasputin's dagger, and is caught up in its history, as it plays a part in her story.
I really enjoyed this novel and didn't want it to end.

[sianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

icl i spent the entire book imagining the characters as those from the vampire diaries. i mean, come on! stefan and nina (dobrev)?

checked this out because i had just watched anastasia and was desperate for more content on the russian revolution. a good book, sure, and interesting depiction of the revolution and the aftermath of it, and the contrasts between imperialists and revolutionaries even in common society (stefan and galena) and also the difference in extremities in those who wished for change (fyodor and stefan)

the characterization was pretty meh. i do think that, like another review said, each character was given one 'trait' and that was it, and we didn't see much complexity beyond that. also, the romance got super cringe but honestly, i didn't expect anything less.

and yet...i'm giving it 3 stars. i feel like the grinch when his heart grew three sizes that day. exam leave is doing something to me. EDIT; never mind it's 2/2.5 now.

>> 2.5 stars

[Alix Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved The Rasputin Dagger. I didn't really know what to expect going into it, but pretty much after the first chapter, I was hooked. Right from the very first page I was sucked in to this world, which was superbly and intricately described. Right from meeting Stefan, I knew that he would become one of my favourite characters, who I would be rooting for the whole way throughout. All of the characters were so well described and it was very interesting to read how they all interacted with each other - I especially enjoyed the scenes with Nina and the Romanov family.

The Rasputin Dagger is undeniably a book with a fantastic story at its heart; each twist and turn was perfectly crafted to have the biggest impact! The plot was so well thought out and kept me thoroughly engaged in the story until the very end. Nina was the perfect protagonist to carry this story - she is daring, adventurous, and determined - everything I love about a female protagonist.

I have never read any books by Theresa Breslin before - but I completely fell in love with the writing in The Rasputin Dagger, and I will definitely be diving into more stories by her. Breslin really is an expert storyteller; she reeled me into her world of revolutionary Russia, and I was very sad to leave it at the end of the book.

Just like any great book, the ending of The Rasputin Dagger brought the whole story together, yet left me wanting more. The tension was so palatable and so real to me that I almost couldn't stand the tension of the last few chapters!

Overall, I loved The Rasputin Dagger - it is definitely one of the best historical novels I have ever read, and I will definitely be checking out more of Theresa's books!

[Leonie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually, reader, I didn’t finish this book. I got to around page 100, and then just decided that I couldn’t read any further as I was only negligibly engaged by the characters and the story. As someone else on here said, this is a fascinating period of history, but this isn’t the story to do it justice. Why? Because everything is just sketched in, from the people to the places to the history, it is like reading nothing but a synopsis for a 1000 page book.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed learning about this time period but I did think that the whole dagger portion was unnecessary and the premise therefor was misleading if you didnt enjoy the historical aspect. I did love the characters but i felt like parts were predictable.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of unsatisfying ending... would've liked something better but still a good book.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fab adventure set in Russia during the revolution. As well as enjoying a cracking story I learn lots about this period in history.

[Meredith Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars :)

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an awful book to read, but only because the subject was both tragic and true. Very well written and fascinating. A great mix of fact and fiction. High four stars.

[Gina G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick enjoyable read, I find Russian history particularly fascinating, so it meant I enjoyed it even more.

[Roi Amar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The idea of twin daggers were awesome and characters amazing.The ending of the story was epic.

[Libraryliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, a bit slow.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed the setting and the time period. story didn't do it enough for me in the end though

[Stefi · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA historical fiction does not get the praise it deserves. Heartwrenching story set during the downfall of Imperial Russia and the rise of the USSR. Very heavy on the historical context and light on the romance, definitely worth a read.

[Mark Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging historical teen fiction of Rasputin and the Russian revolution.

[Anne Grzybowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Orla]

I absolutely loved this book! I didn't know that the Russian Revolution could be so interesting. It was also nice to read a book by a local author.