The Tzar’s Curious Runaways

It’s 1725 in Petersburg and Katinka is a talented young ballerina at the court of all-powerful Tsar of imperial Russia, Peter the Great, who loves nothing more than to watch her dance. However, after the Tsar dies, Kat realises that she is in huge danger: the Tzarina wants to get rid of Peter’s so-called "Circus of Curiosities" – a collection of people and objects in a world when disability is thought to be the result of a witch’s curse – which she is a part of, due to her curvature of the spine (then referred to as “hunchback”).

Following a map drawn for them by a mysterious librarian, Kat and her friends – all three perceived as different – Alexei (a “giant”) and Nikolai (a “dwarf”) must flee for their lives across the perilous Russian winter landscape.

This is a magical tale that immediately scoops up the unsuspecting reader to propel them on a breath-catching journey across snow-capped Russia. Together, Kat, Alexei and Nikolai must search for the safety, happiness and the home that they deserve. A thrilling and thought-provoking page-turner, effectively fusing historical fact with magic, mystical maps, wizards and wood spirits.