The Man from St. Petersburg
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Sometimes I review books because they are great, sometimes because they are insightful, and sometimes because they’re horrible. But sometimes I review books because they’re just plain fun. Take a guess at why I’m writing this one.
The Man from St. Petersburg is the tale of an anarchist assassin named Feliks who volunteers to go to Britain and assassinate (no way!) a Russian prince just before World War I. The prince is on a diplomatic mission to convince Britain to support its efforts to acquire some territory that would give it access to the Mediterranean, since the Russians don’t trust the Turks. In exchange for British support, Moscow will ally with London against the Central Powers in the war everyone—especially protagonist Lord Walden, who is the prince’s diplomatic counterpart—knows is coming. Who is the mastermind behind this cigar smoke-filled backroom wheeling and dealing? Winston Churchill!
The element of romance becomes intertwined in the story when it’s discovered that Feliks once had a passionate affair with a Russian girl named Lydia, who just happens to be Lord Walden’s wife. Meanwhile, Walden’s daughter, Charlotte, has been dabbling in radical politics, going so far as to attend a suffragette rally. With the clock ticking and war on the horizon, a deal between the prince (who, not coincidentally, is related to Lydia) must reach a deal with Walden before Feliks can kill him. The women, of course, get in the way and just might ruin the whole thing, but I can’t give any spoilers.
You might think that Follett uses the suffragette movement as an opportunity to attack the patriarchal system particularly dominant in the early 20th century, but he doesn’t. Lord Walden is depicted as an opponent of the suffragettes and chastised by his daughter, but he is also shown to be a patriot, a man who recognizes the need to preserve what Britain has achieved. And this is precisely the side of the book where some relevancy to today can be found.
When Churchill first approaches Walden with the diplomatic initiative, Walden tells him: “We Conservatives have been worried about German militarism for some time. Now, at the eleventh hour, you’re telling me that we were right.” Lesson? Threats can be confronted before they fully materialize.
At one point, Charlotte and Lord Walden are arguing about the impending war. Charlotte has been infected by some radical politics and asks naively, “How could there be a bigger disaster than a war?” Walden responds, “Should we never fight, then?” War, delusional leftists tell us, has never solved anything—but without it, there would have been no resistance to the Stalins, Hitlers, and Kim Il-sungs of the world. Walden declares that Britain has not been invaded for centuries “[b]ecause we’ve fought other people on their territory, not ours. That is why you…grew up in a peaceful and prosperous country.” Sound familiar? Why are we in Iraq and Afghanistan today? He then says, “I wish you had studied more history.”
Careful study of history is the key to understanding the world around us and making good decisions. By understanding history, by knowing enough of if it to create a believable fictional story, Ken Follett reminds us of some lessons for today, lessons those without any knowledge of history cannot possibly understand.
Read this book for fun—but don’t ignore the commonsensical wisdom it holds.
