The Mystery of Olga Chekhova

The true story of a family torn apart by revolution and war, reissued for the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution.Olga Chekhova was the niece of Anton Chekhov, a stunning Russian beauty and a famous Nazi-era film actress who Hitler counted among his friends. After fleeing Bolshevik Moscow for Berlin in 1920, she was recruited by her composer brother Lev, to work for Soviet intelligence. In return, her family were allowed to join her.The extraordinary story of how the whole family survived the Russian Revolution, the civil war, the rise of Hitler, the Stalinist Terror, and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union is a breathtaking tale of compromise and survival in a merciless age.In Antony Beevor's spellbinding narrative, this single story paints a vivid picture of an extraordinary era.

“Compelling . . . as engaging a read as Stalingrad and Berlin”

Compelling . . . as engaging a read as Stalingrad and Berlin Guardian
Fascinating. An intricate, gracefully told and often moving social history of a talented family in times of revolution, civil war, dictatorship and world conflict -- Rachel Polonsky New Statesman
A fascinating spy story, a delicious entertainment, a compelling investigation -- Simon Sebag-Montefiore Evening Standard
An extraordinary drama of exile and espionage -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
Beevor uses the story to evoke a world - the vague ideological borderlands of Nazism and Communism -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto The Times
Antony Beevor, one of the finest narrative military historians now writing, is a master of revealing vignettes -- Eliot A. Cohen New York Times
A true story that is dramatic, evocative, and well worth unearthing Observer

Antony Beevor is the author of Crete- The Battle and the Resistance (Runciman Prize), Stalingrad (Samuel Johnson Prize, Wolfson Prize for History and Hawthornden Prize), Berlin- The Downfall, The Battle for Spain (Premio La Vanguardia), D-Day- The Battle for Normandy (Prix Henry Malherbe and the RUSI Westminster Medal), The Second World War, Ardennes 1944 (Prix Medicis shortlist) and Arnhem. The number one bestselling historian in Britain, Beevor's books have appeared in thirty-three languages and have sold over eight million copies. A former chairman of the Society of Authors, he has received a number of honorary doctorates. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Kent and an Honorary Fellow of King's College, London. He was knighted in 2017.

'An extraordinary drama of exile and espionage' Boyd Tonkin, Independent 'Compelling . . . as engaging a read as Stalingrad and Berlin' Guardian Olga Chekhova was the niece of playwright Anton Chekhov and a Russian beauty. She was also a famous Nazi-era film actress, closely associated with Adolf Hitler. After fleeing Bolshevik Moscow for Berlin in 1920, she was recruited by her composer brother Lev to work for Soviet intelligence; in return, her family were allowed to join her. By 1945, several of them were trapped in Berlin as the Red Army approached; meanwhile, as Olga had appeared in photographs with Hitler and his entourage, the rest of her family in Moscow were waiting to be arrested by the NKVD secret police. The dramatic tale of how one family survived through the Russian Revolution, the Civil War, the rise of Hitler and Stalin, and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union is, in Antony Beevor's hands, a breathtaking tale of glamour and survival. It's an extraordinary story of extraordinary times. 'Fascinating. An intricate, gracefully told and often moving social history of a talented family in times of revolution, civil war, dictatorship and world conflict' Rachel Polonsky, New Statesman

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.