Booklist called Adrienne Sharp’s White Swan, Black Swan, her acclaimed collection of short stories focusing on the world of dance, “breathtaking” in a starred review. Here Sharp returns once again to the stage in a beautifully crafted tale of love, ambition, and a country’s growing political unrest.

Now 99 years old and living in Paris, former prima ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet Mathilde Kschessinska sits down to write her memoirs. At the age of 17, Mathilde caught the eye of Nicholas II, and the two began a passionate affair. But once Nicholas became tsar and married, Mathilde was cast out of his life. Heartbroken, Mathilde began affairs with two of Nicholas’ cousins. Yet she never forgot where her heart truly lay. A grandiose portrait of Russia before the fall of the house of Romanov, The True Memoirs of Little K effortlessly blends historical fact with sumptuous fiction. Sharp’s elegant prose is perfectly captured here by narrator Rachel Botchan.