Sell Us the Rope

A deeply satisfying novel. Incisive, inventive, frequently very funny Guardian Historical facts furnish May with a cast of legends to bring to life, and he does it with verve and humour The Times Original, adept and confident ... I wish I had written it myself Hilary Mantel When its time to hang the capitalists, they will sell us the rope. May 1907. Young Stalin poet, bank-robber, spy is in London for the 5th Congress of the Russian Communist Party. As he builds his power base in the party, Stalin manipulates alliances with Lenin, Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg under the eyes of the Czars secret police. Meanwhile, he is drawn to the fiery Finnish activist Elli Vuokko and risks everything in a relationship as complicated as it is dangerous.