Blood Red Snow White Read online

  R reached the country and landed unhindered. The following questions seem pertinent:

  Was Arthur Ransome searched when he arrived in this country?

  What messages and letters did he bring from Bolshevik HQ Moscow to this country? And to whom were they delivered?

  Telegram

  W.O. No. 02501

  eighteenth on special request British Consul Ransome received Visa Swedish Legation extraquick time STOP Ransome’s character should be known London undoubtedly capable dangerous agent

  * * *

  ALSO BY MARCUS SEDGWICK

  The Ghosts of Heaven

  Midwinterblood

  Revolver

  She Is Not Invisible

  White Crow

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in Kent in South East England, but now lives in the French Alps. His books have won and been shortlisted for many awards; most notably, he has been shortlisted for Britain’s Carnegie Medal six times, has received two Printz Honors, for Revolver and Ghosts of Heaven, and in 2013 won the Printz Award for Midwinterblood. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  Roaring Brook Press ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  1942—Coniston

  PART I: A RUSSIAN FAIRY TALE

  Once Upon a Time …

  A Magical Land

  Life and Blood

  In the Name of the Tsar

  Cruel Tales

  Engagement and Escape

  Fancy Wooden Box

  O, Russia

  Resurrection

  God’s Instrument

  Incidences of the Bizarre

  Vladimir and Lev, the Russian and the Jew.

  Execution

  Miraculous February

  Exit the Fairy Tale, Enter the Storyteller

  Darkness into Daylight

  PART II: ONE NIGHT IN MOSCOW

  Before

  3:45 p.m.

  4:30 p.m.

  5:05 p.m.

  5:40 p.m.

  6:00 p.m.

  6:00 p.m. Continued

  6:10 p.m.

  6:10 p.m. Continued

  6:35 p.m.

  7:20 p.m.

  7:55 p.m.

  8:10 p.m.

  8:20 p.m.

  8:50 p.m.

  8:50 p.m. Continued

  9:20 p.m.

  9:20 p.m. Continued

  9:20 p.m. Continued

  9:35 p.m.

  9:35 p.m. Continued

  9:40 p.m.

  PART III: A FAIRY TALE, ENDING

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  1942—Coniston

  Fallen Leaves

  Author’s Note

  A Timeline

  Ransome the Spy?

  Appendix

  Also by Marcus Sedgwick

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Text copyright © 2007 by Marcus Sedgwick

  Published by Roaring Brook Press

  Roaring Brook Press is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership

  175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

  fiercereads.com

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by Orion Children’s Books, London

  All rights reserved

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows

  Names: Sedgwick, Marcus, author.

  Title: Blood Red snow White / Marcus Sedgwick.

  Description: First edition. | New York: Roaring Brook Press, [2016] | First published in Great Britain in 2007. | Summary: “A novel based on the life of children’s book author Arthur Ransome, who left his home, his wife, and daughter and fell in love with Russia and a Russian woman and was suspected, by both sides, of being a spy”—Provided by publisher. Includes timeline, historical notes, and selected writings of Ransome.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015034428 | ISBN 9781626725478 (hardback) | ISBN 9781626725485 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Ransome, Arthur, 1884–1967—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Ransome, Arthur, 1884–1967—Fiction. | Authors—Fiction. | Love—Fiction. | Fairy tales—Fiction. | Soviet Union—History—Revolution, 1917–1921—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Love & Romance. | JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / Europe. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.S4484 Blo 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available athttps://lccn.loc.gov/2015034428

  Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].

  eISBN 9781626725485

  First American edition, 2016

  eBook edition, October 2016

  The extract from Old Peter’s Russian Tales is reproduced here with kind permission from The Arthur Ransome Literary Estate

  All telegrams have been sourced from and reproduced here with kind permission from The National Archives of the United Kingdom