Product Description

In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. And sure enough, one day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door. After years of guilt and searching, Annika's mother has come to claim her daughter, who is in fact a Prussian aristocrat and whose true home is a great castle. But at crumbling, spooky Spittal Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her new-found family . . .

Eva Ibbotson’s hugely entertaining story is a timeless classic for readers young and old.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6883 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-02
• Format: Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 388 pages

Books for Keeps, November 2004
A magnificent piece of storytelling, which positively luxuriates in the extraordinary twists and turns of the plot.

The Times, 10 November 2004
...Involve[s] difficulties surmounted, and do[es] not patronize but won't give a child nightmares.

About the Author

Eva Ibbotson was born in Vienna, but spent her early childhood travelling backwards and forwards across Europe between the homes of her father, a scientist, and her mother, a novelist, who separated when she was three. When the Nazis came to power, her family fled to England. She lives in Newcastle, where she brought up her four children and has written the best-selling novels for both adults and children that have been published all around the world.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic book!
THE STAR OF KAZAN is a fantastic book. I don't know what 'im-here-to-help' is talking about. The characters are wonderful and the plot is intricate and thrilling.
Eva Ibbotson is a skilled and accomplished writer who is fantastic at creating characters who you fall in love with. THE STAR OF KAZAN is every bit as heartwarming and absorbing as JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA and everyone should read it!

Book of the Year
Eva Ibbotson is a great writer, not 'just' a great children's writer. Every night I read another chapter to my ten year old daughter and looked forward to it at least as much as she did. As in 'The Journey to the River Sea', Eva Ibbotson creates a vivid and fully realised world, populates it with characters which have just enough of the grotesque mixed in with their humanity to make them memorable, then ties the whole thing together with a pageturner of a story that for all its twists and turns is never contrived. Really magical, and my book of the year.

I only don�t understand one thing � why there is no continue
It's a great book for girl (and not only). Eva Ibbotson is a talented writer, she has many funny books to enjoy like "Great chost rescue", "Wich, wich" etc... But this book doesn't look these ones. Very kind, very sensible charming story about a girl Annika, who lives in "gold city" Vienna , city of music, city of glory. Annika was adopted when was very little, but she lives happily with her new mother and her friends. She loves her life, but sometimes dreams her real mother to find her. And one day unknown beautiful luxurious woman knocks to the door of Annika's house.... And what will Annika chose: her old simple life in Vienna, where she worked on the kitchen and kept the house, where she made with her old family Christmas dinner, where she played with friends in Vienna central park and went on the birthday to the Horse show... or the new life in German castle, where she will have servants.
It's a mystery romance, what secrets does Annika keep you could know if read this book. I really recommend it.