A remarkable young woman blazes her own trail, from the backwoods of Russia to the court of Moscow, in the exhilarating sequel to Katherine Arden’s bestselling debut novel, The Bear and the Nightingale . Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko--Frost, the winter demon from the stories--and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch. Now Vasilisa faces an impossible choice. Driven from her home by frightened villagers, the only options left for her are marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate and instead chooses adventure, dressing herself as a boy and setting off astride her magnificent stallion Solovey. But after Vasilisa prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince’s inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow’s intrigues--and as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy--she will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself. Praise for The Girl in the Tower “[A] magical story set in an alluring Russia.” -- Paste “Arden’s lush, lyrical writing cultivates an intoxicating, visceral atmosphere, and her marvelous sense of pacing carries the novel along at a propulsive clip. A masterfully told story of folklore, history, and magic with a spellbinding heroine at the heart of it all.” -- Booklist (starred review) “[A] sensual, beautifully written, and emotionally stirring fantasy . . . Fairy tales don’t get better than this.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Katherine] Arden once again delivers an engaging fantasy that mixes Russian folklore and history with delightful worldbuilding and lively characters.” -- Library Journal ...

ldquo;Arden’s lush, lyrical writing cultivates an intoxicating, visceral atmosphere, and her marvelous sense of pacing carries the novel along at a propulsive clip. A masterfully told story of folklore, history, and magic with a spellbinding heroine at the heart of it all.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“[A] sensual, beautifully written, and emotionally stirring fantasy . . . Fairy tales don’t get better than this.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Katherine] Arden once again delivers an engaging fantasy that mixes Russian folklore and history with delightful worldbuilding and lively characters.”—Library Journal
 
“A compelling, fast-moving story that grounds fantasy elements in a fascinating period of Russian history.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“[A] magical story set in an alluring Russia.”—Paste

Autorentext

Katherine Arden is the author of the national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale. Born in Austin, Texas, ****Arden ****spent a year of high school in Rennes, France. Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrollment for a year in order to live and study in Moscow. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature. After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, working every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and making crêpes to guiding horse trips. Currently she lives in Vermont, but really, you never know.

Klappentext

In the sequel to the nationally bestselling The Bear and the Nightingale, a gifted young woman with ties to the old magic of her homeland blazes a trail out of the frozen wilderness and into the court intrigues of Moscow.

**“A masterfully told story of folklore, history, and magic with a spellbinding heroine at the heart of it all.”—Booklist (starred review)**

Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention, even affection, of Morozko—the winter demon from her nurse’s stories. But his aid comes at a cost.

Orphaned, named a witch, and cast out by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent or marriage to a stranger. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the wide world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a young man and riding her trusted stallion, Solovey, into the wilderness.

But Vasya’s exploits soon reunite her with her long-estranged siblings and earn her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow. Disguised as a boy, she must walk a delicate line, safeguarding her family, concealing her identity and navigating her increasingly fraught relationship with Morozko—even as she realizes the realm is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

“A compelling, fast-moving story that grounds fantasy elements in a fascinating period of Russian history.”—Kirkus Reviews

Don’t miss any of the bestselling Winternight Trilogy:
THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE • THE GIRL IN THE TOWER • THE WINTER OF THE WITCH

Leseprobe
9781101885963|excerpt

Arden / THE GIRL IN THE TOWER

The Death of the Snow-­Maiden

Moscow, just past midwinter, and the haze of ten thousand fires rose to meet a smothering sky. To the west a little light lingered, but in the east the clouds mounded up, bruise-­colored in the livid dusk, buckling with unfallen snow.

Two rivers gashed the skin of the Russian forest, and Moscow lay at their joining, atop a pine-­clad hill. Her squat, white walls enclosed a jumble of hovels and churches; her palaces’ ice-­streaked towers splayed like desperate fingers against the sky. As the daylight faded, lights kindled in the towers’ high windows.

A woman, magnificently dressed, stood at one of these windows, watching the firelight mingle with the stormy dusk. Behind her, two other women sat beside an oven, sewing.

“That is the third time Olga has gone to the window this hour,” whispered one of the women. Her ringed hands flashed in the dim light; her dazzling headdress drew the eye from boils on her nose.

Waiting-­women clustered nearby, nodding like blossoms. Slaves stood near the chilly walls, their lank hair wrapped in kerchiefs.

“Well, of course, Darinka!” returned the second woman. “She is waiting for her brother, the madcap monk. How long has it been since Brother Aleksandr left for Sarai? My husband has been waiting for him since the first snow. Now poor Olga is pining at her window. Well, good luck to her. Brother Aleksandr is probably dead in a snowbank.” The speaker was Eudokhia Dmitreeva, Grand Princess of Moscow. Her robe was sewn with gems; her rosebud mouth concealed the stumps of three blackened teeth. She raised her voice shrilly. “You will kill yourself standing in this wind, Olya. If Brother Aleksandr were coming, he would have been here by now.”

“As you say,” Olga replied coolly from the window. “I am glad you are here to teach me patience. Perhaps my daughter will learn from you how a princess behaves.”

Eudokhia’s lips thinned. She had no children. Olga had two, and was expecting a third before E…