But I Smile Anyway…

I am delighted to be a part of the blog tour for this translated text, The Faberge Girl, by Ina Christova.


1909, St Petersburg. Seventeen-year-old Alma longs to work at the legendary House of Fabergé, with its talented artisans, winding staircases, secret golden elevator, and glasshouse of tropical plants. But instead, Alma must sketch quietly in her room, inspired by magical visions that could have her accused of witchcraft, whilst her domineering brother presents her designs as his own.

But then comes an opportunity. With the help of a Finnish artisan Knut, she attracts the attention of Carl Fabergéhimself and is given a job at the House of Fabergé. Alma’s creations attract widespread acclaim, and her star is on the rise. But the world around her is increasingly divided, as the Revolution creeps ever nearer. Alma will be forced to decide what matters most to her. Can love, art and beauty survive such hatred and violence?

At once a poignant love story, a magical coming of age tale and a haunting and evocative account of one of Russia’s darkest periods of history, Ina Christova’s transporting debut is based on the incredible true story of Alma Pihl, the only female jewellery designer at the House of Fabergé and her journey during the age of silver culture in St Petersburg.

My review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It is a beautiful story based on the real life of Faberge’s only female artisan.
Alma is only 17 and dreams of joining her brother, working as an artisan in the House of Faberge, where her father also worked.
But this is not a time when women would have been accepted in this light.
Alma has a talent for her sketches that she cannot realise; instead, she sends ideas via her brother.
There is a worry that Alma is ‘inflicted’ with some power that others will think is witchcraft, where her imagination takes flight, and she finds herself immersed in strange scenarios and situations. While this happens, she goes into trances, which her family goes to great lengths to hide, for fear of her being locked up in a monastery to be ‘cured’.
However, her dream becomes a reality when Knut, another artisan, helps her meet Carl Faberge himself to present her sketches.
As the revolution begins to take hold of the country and St. Petersburg, where they live, Alma gets sucked into different perils after befriending a young man who becomes one of the leaders of the resistance groups.
There is a lot to unpick in this story, but I really did enjoy reading it. Having visited St Petersburg, I could imagine certain places, and with a connection to Finland, too, I was more than enamoured of this book.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ina Christova is a Bulgarian writer. When not travelling around the world, she splits her time between London and Oxford. She completed an MA in English and German Literature where she was the recipient of the Eleanor Boyle and Kathleen Major prizes for her writing. Ina’s work has been longlisted for the Blue Pencil First Novel Awards and it won this year’s Novel London Literary Competition. The first draft of The Fabergé Girl was completed on the selective Curtis Brown Creative Course in London.