|
Thomas Berry’s debut fiction
novel, For the Tsar and the Raj, is an exciting saga that
takes a young prince from war-torn Russia to India.
Prince Michael Tetov is a
page for Nicholas II and his mother a lady-in-waiting to Empress
Alexander in Russia.
The Tetovs socialize with the
wealthy Russian court society, including the
magnificently rich Usupov
family. When Michael meets the Usupov’s servant, Anna, a
student revolutionary, the two are instantly smitten with one
another and fall passionately in love.
The Revolution of 1917 begins
and Michael must hide his mother. Anna assures him she will
keep his mother safe, but Anna proves to be a wolf in disguise
when she surrenders Michael’s mother to the Bolsheviks. One
betrayal after another leaves Michael to lose his faith; God is
dead to him.
When Michael is sent to
Siberia, he has to serve under the “Monster of the Urals.”
Witnessing and participating in the unimaginable horrors of war,
Michael becomes a shell of the man he once was. Escaping
Siberia, he joins a close friend, the Maharaja of Shandragar, in
India during the Malabar Riots.
Michael’s view of life is
reinforced when he witnesses the ugliness of human behavior.
Hope glimmers when he makes a decision that changes the course
of his life and restores his faith in love. But fate takes
another drastic turn, threatening to take everything from him
once again.
Berry’s novel interweaves
history with a riveting story of a man trying to forget a past
that nearly destroyed his self-worth and his faith. For the
Tsar and the Raj is a masterful novel focusing on a man’s
deepest impulses to regain his heart, mind and soul, at any
cost.
About the Author
Dr. Thomas Berry is a retired
professor of Russian language and literature. He lectures for
John Hopkins University, the Smithsonian Institution, the
Russian Cultural Society in Washington, D.C., and on numerous
international cruise lines. Dr. Berry has published several
academic books and has traveled extensively all over the globe.
|
