THE IMPERIAL WIFE

by Irina Reyn, Macmillan.

The Imperial Wife is the story of two women: Tanya, a Russian-American New Yorker working for an art auction house, and Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Both are outsiders, both have inferior husbands and both make questionable decisions to succeed. Tanya and Catherine’s stories unfold in alternating chapters, swinging between an 18th-century Russian court and the 21st century. When the medal worn by the monarch, the Order of Saint Catherine, comes on to the market, it brings the women together. Both stories have more than a touch of glamour, but are about the challenges faced by women. The stories will resonate with readers, whether they’re climbing a career ladder, making compromises in personal partnerships, or juggling them both.