I wasn't in the mood to read a depressing story, so I skimmed the rest of the book, because I was interested in seeing what happened. The tension builds and right up until the ending there is an impending danger that all may be lost, and because we have come to love these characters so dearly, our beating heart feels as though it is at stake. And the author takes the time to show us Annika’s life, from when she is raised as a foundling by a housemaid and a cook who work in the professors’ house in Vienna to when she thinks she has finally found her true home at Spittal with her mother, one of the great “vons”. She attended Bedford College, graduating in 1945; Cambridge University from 1946-47; and the University of Durham, from which she graduated with a diploma in education in 1965.

The Star of Kazan - Wikipedia

I mean, every element of a good story, of good writing, of good telling, literally everything, is spotless. She has the usual loyal group of plucky child friends, but she also had no less than FIVE quirky and loving adults going to bat for her. By the age of seven she can bake and ice a three-tiered cake and polish parquet floors to perfection. A young girl is deprived of great wealth by conniving aristocratic criminals in old Vienna, the old corrupt Vienna of grand-dukes and dreams of empire.In Vienna her old family is missing Annika terribly and also come across some unpalatable facts …which could put Annika’s life in grave danger. Rescued by a Viennese cook, she is taken to the house of three eccentric professors, where she is raised by the servants and taught to ice cakes and polish floors to perfection.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson Detailed Review Summary of The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

So begins the unusual childhood of Annika, brought up in the house of three eccentric professors by their two domestic servants. Very soon, an aristocratic lady named Edeltraut von Tannenberg comes to claim Annika and swoop her off to a cold and desolate castle in Germany. One day, Annika's pie-in-the-sky dream comes true: a finely dressed woman arrives with legal documents which declare that Annika is not only her long-lost daughter, but a member of a wealthy, noble-blooded German family to boot. Afraid of being arrested, Zed flees Spittal with Rocco and arrives in Vienna to tell the professors his suspicions about Annika's mother.

Eva Ibbotson's hugely entertaining The Star of Kazan is a timeless classic for readers young and old. Frau Edeltraut von Tannenberg whisks Annika off to Spittal, a sprawling estate in northeastern Germany. There’s mystery, humor, suspense, drama, and though it takes some time to get started, you’ll find yourself saying “just another chapter”, “just another page” to see what happens next. Due to her newfound membership of the aristocracy, she is forbidden from attending the village school or helping with domestic chores.

The Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbotson - Google Books The Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbotson - Google Books

If I had to describe this book in three words they would be exciting, original and thought-provoking. The novel reads more like a mystery novel with elements of suspense, adventure and even a bit of horror which makes for an interesting read.As Zed explains, there is reason to believe that Frau Edeltraut has intercepted a trunk of valuable jewels recently bequeathed to Annika by La Rondine. I have chosen it for my 11 year old Book Club this year and I'm anxious to see how the girls enjoy it. Even the fictional aspects I found convincing, such as the school at the schloss at Grossenfluss which at times outdid Brontë's Lowood School, and the von Tannenberg's castle of Spittal which belies its name, deriving as it does from the word for hospital as a place of healing. One day while Annika is walking with Zed and Hector, the dog, Hector discovers some remnants of La Rondine's trunk in the lake, but there is no sign of the jewels.

The Star of Kazan - AbeBooks - Ibbotson, Eva 9780142405826: The Star of Kazan - AbeBooks - Ibbotson, Eva

Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book.It's all placed within a period close to the childhood of Ibbotson's own parents in Austria, and incorporates much autobiographical detail, from the Vienna Eva knew as a child between her birth in 1925 and her departure in 1933 as the Nazi Party came to power, with Eva shuttling between Edinburgh, Paris and London, depending on where her now separated parents were living. This is just a fun, very enjoyable tale of an foundling child, Annika, who was taken in by Sigrid and Ellie, the servants of a trio of professors in Vienna. And she begins to wonder about the deaths of her parents and those of her companions—especially after the seemingly hale old woman who is teaching her to dye expires the day after telling her there really are no beasts in the woods. More Hamburger icon An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. Her most rebellious scene is when she ignores her mother and tells Ellie and the professors that Annika has been sent to Grossenfluss.