Conspirator: Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport

I reviewed Conspirator by Helen Rappaport for the Bookswap evening at the Firestation. Here is a taster - you can read the full review at Beat

...We start in 1887 when Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) was studying for his school exams and his older brother Aleksandr was hanged for his part in the failed assassination attempt on the Tsar. We follow Lenin in exile as he lives hand to mouth, tracked and watched by the secret police and others, moving from city to city across Europe, often at a moment’s notice and dependent on the help and protection of friends and supporters. Rich in fascinating detail, for example we are told that at the time of Aleksandr’s execution, hanging in Russian was slow strangulation at the end of a rope, Helen draws a vivid picture of Lenin’s life in those seventeen years. Poverty stricken, insecure, and existing in the shadows, he continued to work tirelessly, writing and debating, and risking everything to get works smuggled into Russia. In all of this Lenin was supported by the several women in his life – his wife, mistress, mother and sisters. Helen also examines the effect this uncertain life had not just on Lenin, but also on these women, until his return to Russia ...

At the same site as the review, there is also an interview with author Helen Rappaport.