Russia, 1915: At the age of 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin’s bullet intended for the heart of a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family. He is instantly proclaimed a hero. Before the week is out, his life as the son of a peasant farmer is changed forever when he is escorted to St Petersburg to take up his new position - as bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II. Sixty five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies dying in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. Their marriage, while tender, has been marked by tragedy, the loss of loved ones, and experiences of exile that neither can forget. THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSEis a novel about a young man ripped from a loving home and thrust into the heart of a dying empire. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which led to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is a witness and participant in a drama which will echo down the century. His is also a story of a marriage in which a husband finds it impossible to live in the present and a wife unable to reconcile herself with the past. Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, the novel moves from revolutionary St Petersburg to Paris after the First World War, and from London during the Blitz to the eastern coast of Finland during the 1980s, before returning to a quiet hospital bed where Georgy and Zoya’s story must finally be resolved.
The House of Special Purpose
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Boyne's novel... is a work that chimes perfectly with our times
-- Irish Times, Saturday, May 9, 2009
-- Irish Times, Saturday, May 9, 2009
Book Description
The stunning new novel from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Karen Baxter
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
An accurate history book it's not ... but as a fantasy tale of fiction loosely based on the final collapse of the Russian Autocracy it is outstandingly readable.
The story is narrated by the main character, hero Georgy Jachmenev and spans almost 70 years of his life. Just like a giant jigsaw puzzle starting with the outside pieces of Georgy's life in 1981 at the age of 82 and filling in the story with fragments until the one big picture is complete, and amazingly it works.
John Boyne is a gifted storyteller and an equally gifted writer, I loved this book and found the story exciting, dramatic, emotional and used as a broad outline of the demise of the last Russian Autocratic family Tsar and Tsaritsa Nicholas II and Alexandra, historic.
Characterisation is superb and although the Author does not fill his pages with description, you will find set within the folds of each small puzzle piece, a detailed picture of life and personalities that spring rapidly to life.
Just like John Boyne's previous book ` The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ` ... this would make an excellent film.
I for one cannot wait until his next novel.
The story is narrated by the main character, hero Georgy Jachmenev and spans almost 70 years of his life. Just like a giant jigsaw puzzle starting with the outside pieces of Georgy's life in 1981 at the age of 82 and filling in the story with fragments until the one big picture is complete, and amazingly it works.
John Boyne is a gifted storyteller and an equally gifted writer, I loved this book and found the story exciting, dramatic, emotional and used as a broad outline of the demise of the last Russian Autocratic family Tsar and Tsaritsa Nicholas II and Alexandra, historic.
Characterisation is superb and although the Author does not fill his pages with description, you will find set within the folds of each small puzzle piece, a detailed picture of life and personalities that spring rapidly to life.
Just like John Boyne's previous book ` The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ` ... this would make an excellent film.
I for one cannot wait until his next novel.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By bookworm
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book. I read a lot of Pre-revolution Russian history and although John Boyne may have taken some liberties with historical accuracy, I enjoyed this particular take on the story. Whilst not giving too much away, we are led to believe that not all the Romanovs were executed in 1918. Did we ever wonder what the life of a Romanov survivor may be have been like? How would that person have coped with life after the devastating events of that night. It was interesting to read John Boyne's emotional development of that figure through the years that followed and I found it was an emotional rollercoaster. Thanks for giving us another angle to the much written accounts.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fluent storytelling and a nice mix of love and adventure, four stars for that. But deeper down, this book is a disaster: Boyne is simply using Russian history and geography as a backdrop, and he doesn't know much about Russia. What is more, the lifeline of Georgy Jachmenev is totally unbelievable: an illiterate son of a peasant becomes to St. Petersburg to serve in czar's court, and he is immediately fluent in court etiquette and palace intrigue. Somehow this illiterate guy speaks fluent French because upon landing in Paris he immediately gets a job in a bookstore. He is also fluent in English, he must be, because he works in the British library. No mention is ever made of him learning foreign languages.
WWI was approaching its end in 1919, according to Boyne. Usually November 11th, 1918 is accepted as the armistice. If Boyne is thinking about Russian civil war, it ended in 1923. Russian aristocrats were considering fleeing after 1917 revolution, and Boyne suggests that they took the train through Europe to Britain. A nice trip through enemy Germany ! When it comes to Russian revolution, Boyne misses a critical step: in March 1917 the czar abdicated, but Lenin did not come to power, instead, interim government was headed by Kerenski. Lenin only came to power in November 1917, when Bolsheviks staged a successful coup d'etat (called the October revolution).
St. Petersburg tourist office should be congratulated for selling the idea of "white nights" so well. Boyne writes that the sun does not set in St. Petersburg for a couple of days in the summer. This is complete nonsense: on the Arctic circle the sun does not set on Midsummer, and consequently there is one nightless night. But St. Petersburg is on latitude 60N, and the Arctic circle is 800 kilometers further north. Georgy Jachmenev was born and raised in Kasin, latitude 57N, so the white nights there are pretty much the same as in St. Petersburg. Furthermore, the characters do not notice white nights in Helsinki, which is on the same latitude as St. Petersburg; they only become aware of them in St. Petersburg.
WWI was approaching its end in 1919, according to Boyne. Usually November 11th, 1918 is accepted as the armistice. If Boyne is thinking about Russian civil war, it ended in 1923. Russian aristocrats were considering fleeing after 1917 revolution, and Boyne suggests that they took the train through Europe to Britain. A nice trip through enemy Germany ! When it comes to Russian revolution, Boyne misses a critical step: in March 1917 the czar abdicated, but Lenin did not come to power, instead, interim government was headed by Kerenski. Lenin only came to power in November 1917, when Bolsheviks staged a successful coup d'etat (called the October revolution).
St. Petersburg tourist office should be congratulated for selling the idea of "white nights" so well. Boyne writes that the sun does not set in St. Petersburg for a couple of days in the summer. This is complete nonsense: on the Arctic circle the sun does not set on Midsummer, and consequently there is one nightless night. But St. Petersburg is on latitude 60N, and the Arctic circle is 800 kilometers further north. Georgy Jachmenev was born and raised in Kasin, latitude 57N, so the white nights there are pretty much the same as in St. Petersburg. Furthermore, the characters do not notice white nights in Helsinki, which is on the same latitude as St. Petersburg; they only become aware of them in St. Petersburg.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Historic fiction on a weak foundation - 3-
"The House of Special Purpose" just didn't cut it for me. The story of two fugitives from the Russian Revolution with highly unlikely backgrounds who experience one tragedy after... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Blue in Washington
5.0 out of 5 stars
The House of Special Purpose
Really enjoyed this book, it was recommended to me having been to visit the Grand Palace. Loved it and recommended to my daughter who also enjoyed it.
Published 1 month ago by Kathy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story.
Bought this for my daughter after hearing the story serialised on Radio 4, loved it, very powerful and told from an interesting perspective.
Published 1 month ago by CLARE RANKIN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb historical novel
Andrew Boyne merges his fictional characters with real-life people and events in the story, set in Tsarist Russia in 1915. Read more
Published 3 months ago by MarkP
1.0 out of 5 stars
Huge disappointment
This book is a huge disappointment. The characters are not well developed, historical facts are neglected, the "mystery" is basically revealed in chapter 2 or 3. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tutapelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
One answer to the Anastasia question
Excellent discussion point for those interested in thook and come to your own conclusion. I did.e fate of Anastasia - could it be - did it happen like this.
Published 4 months ago by J. E. O'Brien
2.0 out of 5 stars
An insult to historically literate readers
The title of the book suggests that the writer would know quite a lot about the captivity of the Romanovs and their final prison. Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never fails to amaze me that Boyne :-)
Gripping from start to finish. Never felt so involved in a book before :-) Pulls on your heart strings, unpredictable, beautiful writing style as alwsys. What more can you ask for? Read more
Published 6 months ago by Martyn
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Read
Although the historical accuracy has to be taken with a pinch of salt, I am sure the author uses this licence to provide an entertaining story about the conditions endured by... Read more
Published 7 months ago by RLS Addict
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing, though slightly flawed
This engrossing, though slightly flawed, novel followed two time streams. In the first Georgy is an aging Russian living in London in 1981 looking after his dying wife, Zoya. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John Hopper
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