A Gentleman In Moscow

With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. 

"...a highly engaging mosaic of a life, populated by colourful characters enduring the changing tides of history ...There are so many ways a book like this could go wrong, but Towles pulls it all off - including authorial footnotes in the voice of a historian-cum-Russian-novelist - without a misstep."  -  Christine Pivovar, The Kansas City Star

A Gentleman In Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?

“Spread across four decades, this is in all ways a great novel, a nonstop pleasure brimming with charm, personal wisdom, and philosophic insight…. This is a book in which the cruelties of the age can’t begin to erase the glories of real human connection and the memories it leaves behind. A masterly encapsulation of modern Russian history, this book more than fulfils the promise of Towles’ stylish debut, Rules of Civility (2011).”  -  Kirkus Reviews

Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, A Gentleman In Moscow casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.