Angel on the Square

Angel on the Square

Angel on the Square is a historical fiction novel set during the waning days of the Russian Tsars.

In the fall of 1914, safe behind palace walls, Katya Ivanova sees St. Petersburg as a magical place. The daughter of a lady-in-waiting to Empress Alexandra, Katya spends all her time with the Grand Duchesses making Russian Tsar Nikolai II and his royal family feel like her own.

But outside the palace, a terrible war is sweeping through Europe, and Russia is beginning to crumble under the weight of a growing revolution.

Now, as Katya’s once-certain future begins to dissolve, she must seek to understand what is happening to her beloved country. For the first time in her life, she must take charge of her own destiny. As the world outside begins to enter the palace walls, Katya’s life — along with that of all nobility — changes forever.

• About the author: Gloria Whelan is an American poet, short story writer, and novelist known primarily for children’s and young adult fiction. She won the annual National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2000 for the novel Homeless Bird.