Quotes from Eugenie Fraser

The relationship between the teacher and pupil was formal. When addressed by the teacher only the surname of the girl was used – never the first name. Vanda Derboot was just Derboot, Evgeniya Scholts – plain Scholts.

Each child, with the lightheartedness of a cuckoo, was passed on to the care of a wet nurse, a nanny and later a governess. At

Never since the dawn of Russian history had there been such a time of fear, grief and horror – a time described by the poetess Akhmatova as 'When only the dead could smile'.