Moscow, 1983. Twenty-one-year-old Ella dreams of playing Natasha Rostova in War and Peace at the Moscow Theatre Academy. But when she meets her good friend Vlad at a city square, Ella finds herself in the middle of a protest and attracts the glare of the KGB.
Labelled a traitor, she must withdraw from the academy and she soon yearns to escape the cruel and oppressive Soviet regime. However, her hopes of leaving the country are smashed when her husband, Roman, is sentenced to two years’ labour camp.
As she looks for another way out, Ella is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a KGB general, who has the power to secure her freedom. Will she risk everything and leave behind those she loves to pursue a life in the West?
An absorbing, thrilling and heart-stopping Cold War drama, perfect for fans of The Spy’s Wife and The Girl from Munich.
‘A stunning debut novel. Julia has beautifully crafted characters and given us a tale of intrigue set against the backdrop of 1980s Russia. She has created a thrilling atmosphere of the insidious threat communist Russia posed, not to its enemies, but its own citizens. I lost sleep devouring this page-turner.’ Heather Morris
‘Embark on an exhilarating Cold War journey with Julia Levitina’s brilliant debut, The Girl From Moscow. I was hooked by Ella’s story from the very first page. This is a must-read for fans of fast-paced, engrossing historical fiction.’ Kelly Rimmer
‘A unique new voice in historical fiction.’ Belinda Alexandra
About the Author
Julia Levitina grew up in Moscow with her Ukrainian Jewish mother and grandmother, who were both Holocaust survivors. She studied design and worked as a theatre designer before immigrating to Australia in 1991 with her family, two children and $200 to her name. Julia completed a Masters of Theatre Design at the University of Technology Sydney. While teaching set and costume design, she wrote short stories, and her short story ‘E-Love’ was acquired by Radio National. The Girl from Moscow is her first novel. It was shortlisted for the ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize for unpublished manuscripts. She lives in Sydney’s eastern suburbs with her husband and their toy poodle, Honey.
