Saint Petersburg by Sinclair McKay - ISBN: 9781405975131
Paperback
A city of splendor, sieges, and secrets from Tsar to Putin.

Saint Petersburg

The City That Defied Hitler

$22.94

  • Paperback

    432 pages

  • Release Date

    28 April 2026

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Summary

From Peter the Great to Putin, a biography of the city Hitler tried to wipe off the map

Built by slave labour in the early years of the eighteenth century, Saint Petersburg was Peter the Great’s so-called ‘window on to Europe’, a city that would outdo all of Europe in its splendour. But a window works both ways, and as bestselling historian Sinclair McKay writes, St Petersburg has always been a city that has drawn Westerners who wanted to see into Russia. It is also a city where much …

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781405975131
ISBN-10:140597513X
Author:Sinclair McKay
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint:Penguin Books Ltd
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:432
Release Date:28 April 2026
Weight:338g
Dimensions:197mm x 129mm x 30mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

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 ‘44
The 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 Hitler
Sinclair 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 Georgiana
McKay is a gifted writer; his prose has the cadence, tone and power of a Shostakovich symphony. Horror is majestically conveyed – Gerard DeGroot * The Times *

About The Author

Sinclair McKay

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.

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