The Love and Wars of Lina Prokofiev

Unforgettable as a testimony of personal devotion – John Carey * Sunday Times *
Morrison tells a good story, without excess or indulgence, and with touching empathy for his heroine * Guardian *
Immensely readable and entertaining – Amanda Foreman * New Statesman *
Morrison writes excellently… As much a story of personal tragedy and disappointment as it is a compelling study of how art and tyranny interact – Stuart Kelly * Scotsman *
Meticulously researched – Richard Morrison * The Times *
Morrison, who had access to the family and significant archival collections, has produced a gripping story of a young woman’s rise into the highest social and musical circles, her marriage to Prokofiev (whose principal affection was for his music, not his family), and their globe-trotting tours and swelling celebrity. But as the Stalin-led Soviet Union commenced its multiple atrocities and outrages, the Prokofievs’ world shrank, their travels were limited and their futures were tightly circumscribed. Research, compassion and outrage combine in a story both riveting and wrenching. * Kirkus Reviews *

In the hagiographic hall of fame that is the Russian artist’s wife — Sophia Tolstoy, Anna Dostoevsky, Nadezhda Mandelstam, all muses who stood watch while their men created things of genius, and then who jealously guarded the legacy — Lina Prokofiev is odd woman out. Her story almost cannot be believed, until Simon Morrison gained access to the documents (and the family’s trust) in order to tell it. Biography does not get more important than this.

Simon Morrison is Professor of Music History at Princeton, where he earned his PhD in musicology. He is the author of The People’s Artist, a definitive account of Prokofiev’s career after his fateful return to the Soviet Union in 1936, along with numerous articles and essays in leading scholarly journals, and features for the New York Times. Morrison was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011.

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