My new book FABULOUS FABERGE’ EGGS is up on Reading a-z. It looks great! For those who aren’t familiar with the Fabergé Eggs, they tell a story of art, history, and tragedy all tied up in an Easter egg. The eggs were crafted from precious metals and jewels by Carl Fabergé for the Russian czars to give as Easter gifts to the czarinas. Each egg opened to reveal a surprise inside: miniatures, tiny automatons, etc. that related to the history of Russia.
After the assassination of Czar Nicholas II and his family, the new Russian government sold many of the eggs and they were scattered over the world. Today, a single egg is worth millions of dollars — and some are still missing. Now that is an Easter egg worth hunting!
This book was fun to research and write, but it is not my first dip into Easter eggs for writing material. I wrote about Ukrainian Easter eggs for an historical novel set in Stalin’s 1932 Ukraine. In fact, you might say this book started with an Easter egg. It was a gift from my husband — and led me to research more about this fascinating country and culture that has endured despite invasion, occupation and suppression.
Ukrainian Easter eggs are made by using hot wax to make designs then repeatedly dipping the egg in different dyes after each part of the design is finished. I got a lot of help from Olga, my go-to expert, on the process. See a step-by-step guide on how they are made, plus lots of info on the history and culture of Ukrainian Easter eggs at her website: www.eggs-files.com. Caution!! You won’t be able to resist buying one of her creations. They are gorgeous.
Happy Easter!
I hadn’t thought about Easter that way beorfe. Sort of a no-pressure celebration with chocolate! What’s not to love?! I think it meant more when I lived in England and spring was so much more important. In southern California we don’t really have seasons, just a year-round climate.