One of my most memorable heroines is Tatiana Barrington, a character created by Paullina Simons for her Bronze Horseman trilogy. I bought The Bronze Horseman in the off chance that I’d like it, but from the moment I started reading I was hooked. I like World War II stories, and this one was fabulous.
Tatiana is a Russian girl living in Leningrad during the siege of Leningrad. It’s there that she meets Alexander Barrington, an American whose idealist father gave up his American citizenship to become a Communist. There’s a lot more to that story, but it isn’t relevant to why I like Tatiana.
Tatiana takes care of her family during the siege. If it wasn’t for her they would’ve given up the struggle to stay alive. She even hides her love for Alexander because her sister loves him and saw him first. Fate pushes her to do things that normally she wouldn’t have done, but she gets through everything because she’s a strong person.
Her love for Alexander is the forever kind. There comes a time when she’s called on to risk everything, including her life, for Alexander. The odds that she can succeed are astronomical, but she does what she has to do and turns bitter defeat and certain death into victory.
Who wouldn’t want to be like Tatiana? She’s strong yet yielding, loves passionately, and can forgive the unthinkable. War can’t stop her, neither can Communism or Hitler’s army, but through it all she remains so feminine, so loving, so giving that you just want to help her out.
If you’d like to read the series, start with The Bronze Horseman. Then Tatiana and Alexander, and finally The Summer Garden.
What about you? Tell us about oe of your favorite characters.
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She sounds noble and strong… and selfless.
I enjoy reading about the WW2 era — both fiction and non-fiction. I might give this one a try someday (my TBR pile is unmeasurable).
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It sucked me in with no trouble. There are two more books in the series, and I read both of them as well.
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I have been through too much, and had too many family members, who felt like they had to hold everything together.
Whether in a real life-and-death situation, holding the family and home together, or keeping more than one family member from being lost, it is more common that you might imagine.
I see a trend the last few years on WWII romantic stories, and although many are good, I hope it doesn’t give folks the wrong idea about what may come. It’s always terrible and nothing is ever the same for anyone. Only the rich get richer.
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I’m not sure if you’d like this one or not. The heroine is one of the strongest people I’ve read about. In her case no one else really stepped up. If things were to be done she had to do them.
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I’m not sure I’d be able to read this, either. I usually read to escape into a good place – or at least into a situation where I know it’s going to end well. But the title of the second book gives me a bit of hope.
As for my favorite characters, there are several, but I think one of my favorites is Meg Langslow, the heroine of a 34 book series (so far) of mysteries. She’s strong, independent, resourceful, and manages to do it all while working and raising twin boys. I think she reminds me of me, except I don’t come across dead bodies every few weeks.
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I’ve got to check her out. Thanks for the recommendation.
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