My hands down favourite aspect of this book were the characters, they felt so three dimensional and were well done. The Dictator’s wife herself was such a compelling woman to read about, I felt as fascinated by her as the narrator. She had such an alluring energy to her, I was captivated by the way she held herself and the way she spoke. I think she was a great character to study. I’m a little bit obsessed with her, I’d literally love to read more about her in her own book to be honest. Along with following the main storyline in the present day, I loved how connected the narrator's own past and home life was with her work life. It added another dimension to the story and gave it even more mystery. Especially towards the end when plot twists and coming forward left right and centre, it really made for a well rounded and satisfying ending to the novel in my opinion. Ultimately, when an offer from a Washington-based organization did not appear, she was forced to accept the honorary membership from the IAS. She showed her disgust and vehement anti-semitism by claiming that she had to accept a "low-ranked" degree from the hands of a "dirty Jew," Dr. Emanuel Merdinger, then head of the IAS (Pacepa 181). Laura Lăzărescu is a lawyer, a junior associate in a law firm that embarks on the biggest case of the century: defending infamous Marija Popa, the wife of the Yanussian dictator, Constantin Popa, accused of many crimes. Donald and Melania Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on 20 January 2021. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/EPA

Through her work as a financial and political journalist, Freya Berry was inspired by watching the wives of dictators and strongmen – particularly Melania Trump during the US election in 2016. These women often carry with them an air of detachment, an aloofness that can come across as cold and indifferent, sometimes even calculating. Marija, the dictator’s wife of the title, certainly seems to be all of these things, though she’s so much more – as Laura soon discovers. Marija has a magnetic allure that Laura can’t resist, even though she knows she’s being lured into the spider’s trap. There’s a power play going on between these two women and whilst for much of the novel it feels as if Marija is the one in control, Laura has an innate tenacity that makes her willing to do whatever it takes to dig out the truth – even if it hurts her irrevocably in the process. The beautiful, enigmatic wife of a feared dictator stands trial for her late husband's crimes against the people. The world will finally know the truth. But whose? When the Ceausescus set out for a state visit to the United States in 1978, Elena was offered an honorary membership at the Illinois Academy of Sciences (IAS). However, nothing less than recognition from a Washington-based institute would satisfy her. According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, a former chief of Romania's foreign intelligence service and author of the book Red Horizons: The True Story of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescus' Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption, Elena was livid: The name conjured a glimmering swarm of contradictions. A sumptuous banquet crawling with maggots.’ I used to be a journalist and the story was inspired by my coverage of the 2016 US election, watching Melania Trump, plus research on the likes of Asma al-Assad, Imelda Marcos etc. It explores female power, moral ambiguity, memory and forgetting, and the mother/daughter relationship.

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In 1975, she was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa at both the University of Tehran and Jordan University in Amman. Later, the University of Manila awarded Elena with an honorary doctorate thanks to a large donation that the Ceausescus made during a trip to the Philippines. Elena never admitted to any research malpractice and insisted that institutions really wanted to grant her recognition for her scholarly work.

Set in the fictional country of Yanussia, Marija Popa, wife of the dead former leader, is set to stand trial. She is accused of being complicit in her husband’s actions but declares herself to be innocent of all the charges that are piling up against her. She seeks out a defence team from England comprised of two of her fellow Yanussians. Laura has not stepped foot in her native country since she was a child; her parents never speak of their time in Yanussia and Laura is desperate to find out what happened to them, and specifically to her mother, to make their relationship so strained when she became a teenager. Is Marija telling the truth? Is she as innocent as she proclaims to be? An unconventional legal thriller and absorbing debut that is as satisfyingly complex in both its plotting and moral conclusions’ EXPRESS She says she is not the person they say, she is not her husband, she is innocent but do we, the reader believe her and can Laura find out the truth?To the broader wo As the novel’s cover suggests, this is a boldly visual novel. I won’t be surprised to see it turned into a film or Netflix series. I, for one, can easily imagine Cate Blanchett as the Dictator’s Wife.