Saint Petersburg

Richly-layered and packed with insight, this riveting account of terrible events tells us as much about the present as it does the past – Patrick Bishop, author of Paris ‘44The story of the siege of Leningrad is one of the great epics of modern history. It has been told many times before, but never in such an engrossing, moving, often horrifying but also uplifting way – Brendan Simms, author of HitlerSinclair McKay has followed up his spellbinding history of Berlin with another tour de force. Saint Petersburg is a riveting account of a beautiful city with a dark soul. Interlaced between descriptions of incredible beauty and decay are such unforgettable tales of cruelty and courage as to make a reader weep or forget to breathe. McKay’s magisterial history of Peter the Great’s monumental gift to Russia will become a classic in its own right – Amanda Foreman, author of GeorgianaMcKay is a gifted writer; his prose has the cadence, tone and power of a Shostakovich symphony. Horror is majestically conveyed – Gerard DeGroot * The Times *

Sinclair McKay is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Meeting Churchill, Berlin, Dresden, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, The Secret Listeners, Bletchley Park Brainteasers and Secret Service Brainteasers. He is a literary critic for the Telegraph and the Spectator and lives in London.