Dinah Dean is known for her unusual settings – and for her books that are nearly impossible to find. I have found a few of them over the years, and I was curious to read one.
The Ice King by Dinah Dean
(1980, Regency-era Russia) 3/17/13
Grade: 3.5
After the death of her uncle, Tanya is afraid she will spend the rest of her life as a companion in a remote village, but distant relatives offer her a season in St. Petersburg before she leaves. She is soon caught up in the social life of the city, and drawn to the mysterious Prince Nikolai. Nikolai has been known as the emotionless Ice King since the death of his wife years earlier, but perhaps Tanya’s influence will help him thaw…
It was interesting to read a book with such an unusual setting, but most of the book was more focused on the setting than the characters. The author spent a lot of time describing St. Petersburg and Russian society in great detail, but the characters (particularly Nikolai) remained cyphers. This was a little bit frustrating, especially in such a short book. The characters started to come to life in the last 50 pages or so, but overall this book was more notable for its setting than for its character development.
I’m not sure what to do with this book – it’s in terrible condition (so yellowed it’s practically brown) but I hate to throw it out when Dean’s books are so hard to find!
Karen Wheless
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