 ..What lifts this book high above most historical novels is Jay Parini’s remarkable ability to enter the minds of his characters.”

Gore Vidal called the novel “One of the best historical novels written in the past twenty years.”

Writing in the "Times Literary Supplement", John Bayley called this novel “a subtle masterpiece” and suggested that “Tolstoy himself would probably have recognized the work of a true artist.”

Reviewers consistently praised the lyrical quality of the writing.