A Countess In Limbo

The diaries reveal details of a remarkable life of a woman born in Imperial Russia who refused to complain about the luxurious life she left behind. CTV National News Its a miraculous tale that takes the readers through revolutions and world wars and chronicles Hendrikoffs transformation from a wealthy privileged lady in-waiting for the Russian empresses to desperate survivor scavenging for coal in a Nazi-occupied France. Calgary Herald Countess Olga Lala Hendrikoff was born into the Russian aristocracy, serving as lady-in-waiting to the empresses and enjoying a life of great privilege. But on the eve of her wedding in 1914 came the first rumors of an impending wara war that would change her life forever and force her to flee her country as a stateless person with no country to call home. In A Countess in Limbo, Countess Hendrikoff tells her remarkable true story that includes the loss of her brother in the Russian gulag, her sister-in-law murdered with the Russian Imperial family, and herself being robbed at gunpoint and accused of being a spy by the Nazis. She also speaks of the daily life that continues during wartime: ration cards and food restrictions, the black market, and the struggle just to get by another day. Her gripping story and thoughtful analysis provide a valuable look at life and humanity in the face of war. Spanning two of the most turbulent times in modern historyWorld War I in Russia and World War II in ParisCountess Hendrikoffs journals demonstrate the uncertainty, horror, and hope of daily life in the midst of turmoil. Her razor-sharp insight, wit, and sense of humor create a fascinating eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution and the occupation and liberation of Paris.

Countess Hendrikoff was born into the Russian aristocracy, serving as lady-in-waiting to the Empresses and enjoying a life of great privilege. Spanning two of the most turbulent times in modern historyNWorld War I in Russia and World War II in ParisNher journals demonstrate the uncertainty, horror, and hope of daily life in the midst of turmoil.

"The diaries reveal details of a remarkable life of a woman born in Imperial Russia who refused to complain about the luxurious life she left behind." --CTV National News "It's a miraculous tale that takes the readers through revolutions and world wars and chronicles Hendrikoff's transformation from a wealthy privileged lady in-waiting for the Russian empresses to desperate survivor scavenging for coal in a Nazi-occupied France." --Calgary Herald Countess Olga "Lala" Hendrikoff was born into the Russian aristocracy, serving as lady-in-waiting to the empresses and enjoying a life of great privilege. But on the eve of her wedding in 1914 came the first rumors of an impending war--a war that would change her life forever and force her to flee her country as a stateless person with no country to call home. In A Countess in Limbo, Countess Hendrikoff tells her remarkable true story that includes the loss of her brother in the Russian gulag, her sister-in-law murdered with the Russian Imperial family, and herself being robbed at gunpoint and accused of being a spy by the Nazis. She also speaks of the daily life that continues during wartime: ration cards and food restrictions, the black market, and the struggle just to get by another day. Her gripping story and thoughtful analysis provide a valuable look at life and humanity in the face of war. Spanning two of the most turbulent times in modern history--World War I in Russia and World War II in Paris--Countess Hendrikoff's journals demonstrate the uncertainty, horror, and hope of daily life in the midst of turmoil. Her razor-sharp insight, wit, and sense of humor create a fascinating eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution and the occupation and liberation of Paris.

From Helen Rappaport, the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes After the Romanovs, the story of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought freedom and refuge in the City of Light. Paris has always been a city of cultural excellence, fine wine and food, and the latest fashions. But it has also been a place of refuge for those fleeing persecution, never more so than before and after the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanov dynasty. For years, Russian aristocrats had enjoyed all that Belle Époque Paris had to offer, spending lavishly when they visited. It was a place of artistic experimentation, such as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. But the brutality of the Bolshevik takeover forced Russians of all types to flee their homeland, sometimes leaving with only the clothes on their backs. Arriving in Paris, former princes could be seen driving taxicabs, while their wives who could sew worked for the fashion houses, their unique Russian style serving as inspiration for designers like Coco Chanel. Talented intellectuals, artists, poets, philosophers, and writers struggled in exile, eking out a living at menial jobs. Some, like Bunin, Chagall and Stravinsky, encountered great success in the same Paris that welcomed Americans like Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Political activists sought to overthrow the Bolshevik regime from afar, while double agents from both sides plotted espionage and assassination. Others became trapped in a cycle of poverty and their all-consuming homesickness for Russia, the homeland they had been forced to abandon. This is their story.

If you had to interview the candidates for a country's new hangman, what questions would you ask them? If your family was on the verge of starvation, and becoming a hangman was the only job available, would you apply? If you were hired, what would you do if the prisoners looked like your loved ones? If you knew that another good man was taking the job out of desperation, would you do anything to prevent him from getting it? What if that man's recruitment would somehow guarantee your own survival, would you encourage his candidacy? All these questions were asked of people who never thought they would find themselves in such a position, until they became mired in the chaos surrounding the hangman's replacement.

My journey encapsulates a three year mystery that began in Edinburgh, Scotland in October 2006 in which I was led by a variety of mysterious historical symbols to learn about the life and challenges of Lady Mary Hay in Cruden Bay, Scotland, who was the 14th Countess of Errol during the years of 1711-1758. Mary Hay was the Senior Great Officer, Royal Office of Scotland and Chief of the King's Household in Scotland. She succeeded to the title in 1717 when she became Lady Hay and Baroness of Stain, 23rd Chief of the Hays (since 1171) and Mac Garaidh Mhar (a Celtic title). In 1727 she nominated John Duke of Roxburgh, to act as Her Deputy and walk in the procession for the coronation of George II. In 1745 she raised an army of Buchan men who stood for "Bonnie Prince Charlie"-Prince Charles Edward Stuart. She was close to sixty years of age at the time. At this time, Mary was a practicing Episcopalian and as this faith was persecuted by the Hanoverians she fitted out a grain store as a place of worship. This was known in Cruden Bay as `Countess Mary's Girnal'. It was burnt to the ground in 1746 by English Dragoons. She succeeded her brother, Charles Hay, and was succeeded by grandnephew Lord James Boyd Kilmarnock, the grandson of her late sister Margaret.

Originally published: Great Britain: Faber & Faber, 2016.