A slower start that but worth reading through to get to the rest of the book that gets better and better with each chapter after about 1/3 to 1/2 of the book.

The writing is well done and builds a wonderful story about extremely interesting woman.

Its one of those books that sometimes doesn't even read as if it is nonfiction, is so well done that throughout the book i sometimes forgot i was reading an autobiography and not something written by a person that is very distant from the subject of the book.

I didn't know anything about this woman before i started this book and i am very happy to have gotten to know her and her story throughout this.

If you are looking for an interesting story about a fascinating woman, this i a good one!

For me, this book started out slow and got better and better with each chapter. The beginning focused on Edith's normal life before everything got crazy for her. While it wasn't the most exciting, I realize that was the point- to have her normal life to compare to the aftermath of the Russian revolution. It was fascinating to have an in depth look into how one woman's life was changed and to see every hurdle she went through while trying to find freedom again.

The Russian Countess is an autobiography of Countess Edith Sollohub, born Edith Natalie de Martens. She was born and raised in Pre-Communist Russia and was unfortunately trapped in Russia after the revolution. This autobiography focuses on her life before the revolution and how she did her best to survive and escape after.

My first surprise came when I read the introduction of the book and found that it was written in English. I had assumed that this was translated, and to be honest if I didn't know that it was written in English, I would have assumed it was a very well-done translation because the English was really natural.

The second surprise was of her experience during the revolution. I don't know what I expected, but whatever I read was a surprise. Perhaps the fact that she wasn't put in jail immediately surprised me. Or perhaps it was because of how little the spirit of communism seemed to be in everyone. I had this image that most people wanted to become communist, but the book made it seem like most people were indifferent to it, or at best using it opportunistically.

Although this book provides a fascinating look into what it was like to live through revolutionary Russia, I do think that it doesn't provide a whole picture. Edith was supported in large part by her servants, who were still faithful to her. In fact, another thing that surprised me was that even after the revolution, she managed to keep a governess for her boys and her first escape was with a few servants. Certainly not the number she used to have, but it was definitely not zero. I think life for an ordinary person or even a person of nobility who was not well-liked would have been very different.

Not that I'm saying that this book isn't worth reading. Far from it. I really enjoyed reading it and I am in awe of how talented and resourceful Edith was. I just realised that I have to be careful not to take one person's account and assume that it applies to everyone living through that event.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

As a member of the nobility there was little option for Countess Edith Sollohub but to escape from Russia after the 1917 Revolution and in this engaging memoir, compiled from her notes by her family after her death in 1965 we discover just how she managed this. Facing enormous hardship and deprivation she finally succeeded in getting out and was reunited with her three young sons, whom she had managed to get out earlier, and her struggles to get back to them makes for some gripping reading. She was obviously a very strong and determined character and although in some way her experiences mirror that of many another victim of the new Bolshevik regime, her story is still definitely one worth discovering.

The Russian Countess is the memoir of an upper middle class, maybe upper class, woman from her childhood up until she escapes Russia after the Revolution. This story, if the the synopsis is to be trusted, should have been thrilling, gripping, with a great escape, almost suicide, essentially a story that seems like a real-life thriller. Perhaps this is the fault of its starting point (her childhood), but I found this book dull. Countess Sollohub would describe anecdotes in such detail that I couldn't help almost falling asleep. While they certainly have some historical value as indicators of life in Russia for a certain class, these anecdotes made the interesting climax to much of a slog to reach. Additionally, those descriptions blocked her personality from coming through making the stories seem wooden. Perhaps if the beginning were shortened a bit (the first 10% felt like I had read 100 pages when it was really only 30), this book would be great, but its current form prevents anything gripping or interesting from being reached.

A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

It is difficult to tear oneself away from this absorbing memoir. Sollohub chronicles an idyllic, privileged life in Imperial Russia, only to shift to a deeply contrasting—and disturbing— portrait of chaos, danger, and desperation in post-Revolutionary years. The author pays little attention to the social and economic inequalities that precipitated the Revolution, but her portrayal of social upheaval after the Revolution compassionately displays its effects on people from a wide variety of classes. Bringing her own experience to life as she seeks a safe way out of Russia for her children and herself, the countess also gives witness, with grace and at times even humor, to the Revolution’s seismic impact on broader society.