Blood and snow

Just finished Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick. It's a fictionalised biography of Arthur Ransome, author of Swallows and Amazons. I'd forgotten that Ransome had also written Old Peter's Russian Tales. Sedgwick's book starts with a information about Old Peter, and we learn about Ransome's fascination with all things Russian. As a newspaper journalist he is based in Russia at the start of the Russian Revolution, and soon finds himself embroiled in dangerous events.

He is in contact with British officials, and with the Bolsheviks, not to mention in love with a young Russian who is Trotksy's secretary. It is fascinating to think that a man known for wholesome and now rather old-fashioned children's books was at one point deciding which side to spy for in the midst of terrifying times

I must admit that I didn't find it an easy read, though like Marcus Sedgwick's other books, it is a book for young people. A review in the Sunday Times says that it "will reward readers of any age". I have my doubts. Interesting, and very well written it may be, but I can't see if gripping too many of my teenage readers at school.