‘A delicate weaving of myth and history, The Witch and the Tsar breathes new life into stories you think you know’ Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

Yaga lives deep in the Russian forest, tending to any that call upon her for her healing potions and vast wisdom.

She has been alone for centuries, with only her beloved animals for company. But, when Tsaritsa Anastasia, wife of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, shows up at Yaga’s cottage on the brink of death, Yaga is compelled to travel with her to Moscow to keep her safe.

However, the Russia Yaga sees as she makes her journey to the heart of the country is one on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan – soon to become Ivan the Terrible – grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

Set in sixteenth-century Russia, The Witch and the Tsar upends the stories we know of Baba Yaga as the bony-legged witch of Slavic fairy tales and the stuff of nightmares. For beyond the rumours of her iron nose, fangs for teeth, and house on chicken legs, is the story of a woman so wise and strong that she has to be cloaked in lies to hide her true power.

Lấy bối cảnh nước Nga thế kỷ XVI, The Witch and the Tsar đảo ngược những câu chuyện mà chúng ta biết về Baba Yaga như một mụ phù thủy chân xương trong truyện cổ tích Slavic và những thứ trong cơn ác mộng. Bởi vì ngoài những lời đồn đại về chiếc mũi sắt, nanh thay răng và ngôi nhà trên chân gà, là câu chuyện về một người phụ nữ thông thái và mạnh mẽ đến mức bà phải che giấu sức mạnh thực sự của mình bằng những lời nói dối.