false 6421824 3 In Russia during the year 1915, at the age of 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for the heart of a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family. He is instantly proclaimed a hero. Before the week is out, his life as the son of a peasant farmer is changed forever when he is escorted to St Petersburg to take up his new position - as bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II. Sixty five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies dying in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. Their marriage, while tender, has been marked by tragedy, the loss of loved ones, and experiences of exile that neither can forget. "The House of Special Purpose" is a novel about a young man ripped from a loving home and thrust into the heart of a dying empire. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which led to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is a witness and participant in a drama which will echo down the century. His is also a story of a marriage in which a husband finds it impossible to live in the present and a wife unable to reconcile herself with the past. Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, the novel moves from revolutionary St Petersburg to Paris after the First World War, and from London during the Blitz to the eastern coast of Finland during the 1980s, before returning to a quiet hospital bed where Georgy and Zoya's story must finally be resolved. 6611043 7 5 2009 The House of Special Purpose total:19|5:5|4:9|3:5|2:0|1:0| 19 76 50 9 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 3 0 false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 20:41:53 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 15:03:36 -0700 2009 1
Getting further through the book thin...more...]]> 7058386 0385616074 9780385616072 2 1 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7058386-the-house-of-special-purpose 5 0 false Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Oct 27 14:47:25 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 03:25:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 3 0 false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 03:22:58 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 18:34:39 -0700 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 4 0 false Sat May 23 10:16:28 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 10:18:54 -0700 2009 Part love story, part historical epic, part traged, it shows Boyne writing at his very best]]> 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 4 0 false Sat Aug 15 03:28:51 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 03:30:29 -0700 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 4 0 false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 01:45:56 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 01:11:44 -0700 2009
Set in Russia, France and Britain - the unfolding saga of two young Russians, and the impact of their countries history on their lives. Hard to put down.]]> 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 5 0 false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 10:47:03 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 05:07:33 -0700 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 5 0 false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 03:13:21 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 19:53:46 -0700 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 3 0 false Sun Oct 04 06:42:42 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 09:13:33 -0700 2009 7058386 0385616074 9780385616072 2 1 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7058386-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Fri Dec 04 14:38:30 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 04 14:38:37 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Mon Nov 30 12:02:57 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 30 12:02:57 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 4 0 false Sat Nov 28 21:37:11 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 21:37:11 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Tue Nov 24 19:43:04 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 19:43:04 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Thu Nov 19 13:58:55 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 13:58:55 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Wed Nov 18 14:17:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 14:17:00 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 4 0 false Sun Nov 15 09:22:34 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 09:22:34 -0800 2009 7058386 0385616074 9780385616072 2 1 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7058386-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Mon Nov 09 12:32:21 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 12:32:23 -0800 2009 7058386 0385616074 9780385616072 2 1 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7058386-the-house-of-special-purpose 3 0 false Fri Nov 06 14:23:53 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 14:24:00 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Fri Nov 06 14:10:51 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 14:10:51 -0800 2009 6421824 0385616066 9780385616065 17 8 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6421824-the-house-of-special-purpose 0 0 false Thu Oct 29 08:58:41 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 08:58:41 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=7058386