The Firebird
Buy The Firebird
Synopsis
But when a woman offers Sebastian a small wooden carving for sale, claiming it belonged to Russia’s Empress Catherine, it’s a problem. There’s no proof. Sebastian believes that the plain carving—known as “The Firebird”—is worthless. But Nicola’s held it, and she knows the woman is telling the truth, and is in desperate need of the money the sale of the heirloom could bring.
Compelled to help, Nicola turns to a man she once left, and still loves: Rob McMorran, whose own psychic gifts are far greater than hers. With Rob to help her “see” the past, she follows a young girl named Anna from Scotland to Belgium and on into Russia. There, in St. Petersburg—the once-glittering capital of Peter the Great’s Russia—Nicola and Rob unearth a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption…an old story that seems personal and small, perhaps, against the greater backdrops of the Jacobite and Russian courts, but one that will forever change their lives.
Kearsley masterfully merges paranormal elements with a wonderful dual story and a fascinating historical setting. Those who loved A.S. Byatt’s Possession will adore The Firebird.
— RT Book Reviews
Did You Know…
Gallery
South Molton Street London where Nicola works
The Galerie St Croix would be housed in a building like this one
Edinburgh Scotland The Royal Mile
The street where I set my fictional Emerson Institute of Parapsychology in Edinburgh
Eyemouth police station
Eyemouth Harbour. The Contented Sole is on the left The Lifeboat docks off to the right
Eyemouth Lifeboat at its moorings with the Contented Sole in the background
The St Olaf Hotel Cruden Bay Aberdeenshire
The dining room of the St Olaf Hotel as it was when I stayed there in 2006
The beach at Cruden Bay. This gives a good idea of the size and height of the dunes
The view from the dunes on the beach looking northwards
The view of the sea from the dunes
Slains Castle as it looked when I was there in 2006. Sophia’s chamber was in the square tower at the far right.
The Bullars of Buchan
Ieper (Ypres, Belgium St Jacobsstraat at night)
St Jacobsstraat by day
St Jacobsstraat. A view of the block of houses that stand where the Convent of the Irish Benedictine nuns once stood on the right
The lane Rob and Nicola walk down at the edge of the old convent site when they’re looking for a place to do their first viewing
The convent block again from the opposite end. You can see the covered drive where Rob and Nicola shelter when it rains
The view from Rob and Nicola’s table at the Vivaldi restaurant in the main square of Ieper
St Petersburg Russia. The Nevsky Grand Hotel
The Strelka. Rob and Nicola’s bench is the second one up on the right
The Strelka. Rob and Nicola’s bench from behind
The Strelka. The view across the Neva of the Palace Embankment
The Strelka. The view of the Peter and Paul fortress
The Strelka. The view of the Admiralty (ice cream vendors are in the foreground).
The Hermitage (Winter Palace, seen from the bridge)
Rob’s favourite pies at one of the Stolle restaurants in St Petersburg
The Winter Canal. The Hermitage Theatre is on the left and you can see the small section of the wall of Peter the Great’s Winter Palace
A better view of the uncovered section of wall Nicola touches to see Peter the Great’s Winter Palace
The Summer Palace seen from the canal
Passing the Summer Palace with a section of the Summer Garden coming into view
On the Fontanka River looking towards the Neva with the Summer Garden on the left
The front entrance of the Menshikov Palace as it looks today
The visitor entrance of the Menshikov Palace
Check out my other books, including more behind-the-scenes info and images.
