Introduction

Lost Roses is a 2019 historical fiction novel by Martha Hall Kelly, written as a prequel to her debut Lilac Girls. It takes place between 1912 and 1921 in America, Russia, and France, following three families in the midst of World War I and the Russian Revolution. The novel deals with themes of family and motherhood, barriers of social class, and tolerance across cultures. This study guide is for the hardcover edition from Ballantine Books.

Content warning: This novel contains depictions of domestic violence, sexual assault, and abuse.

Plot Summary

Eliza is an American woman and a friend to the Streshnayva family, a Russian family related to the current tsar. She is particularly close with the eldest daughter Sofya and Sofya’s younger sister Luba, who is almost the same age as Eliza’s daughter. The Streshnayvas spend a summer with Eliza in America, where Sofya gives birth to her son, Max, before they return to Russia with Eliza. Eliza enjoys her visit but is concerned at the political unrest she sees in the streets. After a party one night, a group of bandits hold up a tram and attack Eliza; however, she is saved by the actions of the passengers.

In a small village not far from Sofya’s home, a young peasant girl named Varinka lives with her ill mother and her late father’s apprentice, Taras. They are forced to give their few remaining possessions to a tax collector. After the Streshnayvas leave the city for the safety of their country home, Varinka gets a job first as a maid in their house and then as Max’s nanny. She grows very close to the child and feels betrayed when she learns that the family will be fleeing to Paris without her. When the country house is attacked by Taras and his friends, the family is forced into captivity while Varinka and the other villagers take over the home. Sofya manages to escape, hoping to get help from the tsar’s family. Meanwhile, Luba makes a deal with Varinka to escape together, but betrays her at the last moment. As she flees the palace, Sofya sees the burned bodies of her mother, her father, and someone she thinks is her sister Luba—though later she will discover that Luba has also escaped. With the family gone, Varinka takes the infant Max to raise as her own son.

In America, Eliza and her husband Henry have just bought a fixer-upper country house. After a rainy afternoon of tennis with his friend Richard Merrill (called by his surname throughout), Henry falls ill and dies. To distract herself from her grief, Eliza throws herself into charity work helping the flood of refugees fleeing the revolution in Russia and searching for news of Sofya. She learns that Merrill has become engaged, but he confesses that he loves Eliza and breaks off his engagement before joining the war. Eliza continues taking more refugee women into her household, helping them find work and organizing handmade dolls to be locally sold. When the influx of immigrants causes tension in the community, Eliza and her mother remind everyone of the importance of cultural understanding and tolerance.

Separately, Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka all make their way to Paris. Eliza is hoping for news of Merrill and Sofya, Sofya is seeking revenge for her murdered family and hoping to reconnect with her lost son, and Varinka has followed Taras on business and is secretly seeing a man she has fallen in love with. Sofya finds work as a collections agent for a brothel and discovers where Varinka and Taras have taken Max; she also encounters Luba and his overjoyed to discover that her sister has escaped the assassination of her family. Eliza arrives in Paris and reconnects with Sofya, helping her secure aid so she can reclaim her son. She also finds the hospital where Merrill has been staying after a severe mustard gas poisoning. Varinka leaves Taras behind and begins a new life with her new boyfriend, while Eliza, Sofya, Merrill, and Luba all return to America to move forward with their lives there.