‘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 it’s 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 Czar’s 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.

‘Original, adept and confident... What can I say, except that I wish I had written it myself?’ - Hilary Mantel

‘A deeply satisfying novel. Incisive, inventive, frequently very funny.’ - Clare Clark, The Guardian

‘Historical facts furnish May with a cast of legends to bring to life, and he does it with verve and humour’ - John Phipps, The Times

‘Reveals the texture of history as an all too human bricolage of private resentments, sexual slights and mixed motives' - Rob Doyle, The Observer

‘Takes dark delight in the dangerous world of revolutionary double-dealing' - Eithne Farry, The Daily Mail

‘A captivating thought-experiment that marks a consolidation of May’s powers as a writer' - Alasdair Lees, The Telegraph

Stephen May is the author of five novels including Life! Death! Prizes! which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and The Guardian Not The Booker Prize. He has also been shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year and is a winner of the Media Wales Reader’s Prize. He has also written plays, as well as for television and film. He lives in West Yorkshire.