This is a work of fantasy, so I did take liberties with the historical elements, but culturally, I tried to stay true to what life was like at that time. While I’m by no means an expert, I was aided by the excellent Kievan Russia by George Vernadsky, which is seen to be the definitive work on the time period.
There were a few times I tweaked history to suit the story. For example, the Drevlians did revolt against the grand prince of Kiev when they grew tired of paying tribute, but this occurred two centuries earlier than the time of Through the White Wood, and the revolt was quickly crushed. Novgorod was originally the capital of Kievan Rus’, but later became its own republic, and were never enemies of Kiev. However, there was a period when three princes sat on the thrones of the Drevlian territory, Novgorodian territory, and Kiev itself. These three princes went to war with each other when the Drevlian Prince, Yaropolk, had his brother Oleg, who was prince of Kiev, killed. The Novgorodian Prince Alexander was forced to flee until he later returned with a Viking army and defeated Yaropolk. This was the inspiration for the political conflict Prince Alexander must deal with in Through the White Wood.
Empress Zoe and Empress Theodora really did jointly rule the Byzantine throne, but only for a short time in 1042. Still, I couldn’t resist the fantastic imagery of two female empresses—sisters—ruling together, and so I tweaked history a bit to have them in my story. Kievan Rus’ did have a trade route to Constantinople, thanks to the Varangians (Vikings), and the Byzantines did intermarry with the Rus’, but I fabricated the political intrigue and support of the Drevlians and Novgorodians to work with the plot of Through the White Wood.
Though the people of Kievan Rus’ converted to Christianity under Grand Prince Alexander in 988, Slavic pagan beliefs still lived on through folktales and a lingering respect for and personification of the seasons. The people of Kievan Rus’ very much saw the seasons as an eternal struggle between the sun and cold, and I tried to bring some of this to life with the personification of Winter. I only mention a few of the supernatural creatures and spirits of Slavic folklore, such as Baba Yaga, the rusalka, and the bannik, but there are so many more. As with the historical aspects of the book, I took some creative liberties, and I hope my readers—particularly those who specialize in Russian history and lore—will indulge me.
Glossary
Baba Yaga: A well-known figure in Russian fairy tales. She is a wise old witch who is sometimes portrayed as helpful, but usually malevolent, and is characterized as riding around in a mortar and pestle while her hut spins about on chicken legs.
babushka: Russian for grandmother.
bannik: A bathhouse spirit in Slavic lore. People used to leave offerings of soap, water, or fir branches to the bannik to keep him appeased. He was said to be able to tell the future by gently running his fingers down one’s back if one’s fortune was good, and raking one’s back with his claws if one’s fortune was bad.
bogatyr (plural: bogatyri): A trained warrior much like the knights of western Europe.
boyar: The noblemen of Kievan Rus’; these were feudal lords who were ranked just below the grand prince. They provided military support and tribute for the prince.
dedushka: Russian for grandfather.
deel: Traditional clothing worn by the Mongol tribes and Turkic people; could be made from wool, silk, or brocade. It can be worn by both men and women, and it looks like a belted robe or overcoat. It can be plain or extravagantly embroidered.
derevnya: A Russian village too small to have its own church.
devotchka: Russian diminutive for girl.
dvor: Russian for courtyard.
Drevlians: A warlike tribe of people who paid tribute to Kievan Rus’.
druzhina: The military company of men who served under the prince and the boyars in Kievan Rus’.
dobroye utro: Russian for good morning.
Gosudar: A title of respect for the prince, similar to “Highness” in English.
govno: Russian for shit.
grand prince: The highest-ranking member of the aristocracy in medieval Kievan Rus’. The first grand prince was actually a Varangian (Viking).
horhog: A traditional Mongolian meat dish, made from heating stones in an open fire and using them to slowly cook the meat and vegetables.
izba (plural: izby): A Russian house made of wood, similar to a log cabin.
kasha: Russian porridge made from any number of grains, but especially buckwheat.
Kievan Rus’: A powerful East Slavic state ruled by the Grand Prince of Kiev. It was also the birthplace of three modern-day nations: Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.
knarr: A merchant ship used by the Vikings to transport livestock and other goods.
kokoshnik: Traditional Russian headdress.
kvas: Traditional Slavic drink made from fermented rye bread.
Novgorodians: People of the city-state of Novgorod in modern-day Russia.
piroshok: A hand-held bun that can be baked or fried and filled with a number of different things, such as meat or vegetables (especially cabbage).
pryaniki: A Russian spice cookie traditionally made at Christmastime; also known as honey bread.
rubakha: A Russian tunic, usually made of linen, and often embroidered.
rusalka: A water nymph of Slavic mythology. Originally the rusalki were seen as life-giving: they came out of the lakes and rivers in the spring and gave water to the crops. But later on in history, they were seen as more malevolent spirits, who could drag unsuspecting victims under the water and drown them.
shchi: A Russian cabbage soup; a staple food of Russia along with kvas.
shuba: A long fur coat.
spokoynoy nochi: Russian for good night.
upyr: In Slavic lore, this is a creature who feeds off the life energy (usually blood) of another person; similar to a vampire.
Varangians: The name given to Vikings while they occupied and ruled the medieval state of Kievan Rus’. They traded and pirated all down the vast river systems of medieval Russia, all the way to the Black Sea and Constantinople.
Vyatka horse: A breed of Russian draft horse from the former Vyatka region, now endangered.
Acknowledgments
Deo gratias.
This book was born from my love of fairy tales, particularly Russian ones, but also from my deep and abiding love of Strong Female Characters Who Can Do Really Cool Things. I am so thankful to be sharing this story with you, and it’s with the help of so many talented and supportive people that it could be brought to life.
Thank you to my husband for being supportive since day one, when I said, “I think I want to write a book.” I love you forever and always.
For my mom and dad, who always believed in me no matter what and have always been endlessly supportive in every way.
For my in-laws, Mike and Carol, who have always been so proud and supportive—and they were always happy to take the kids any time I needed time to write!
For my editor, Alice Jerman, for falling in love with not just one but two of my books and working tirelessly again to make sure it was the absolute best version it could be. It’s been such an absolute pleasure to work with you! I love our chicken chats best of all.
For my agent, Brianne Johnson, because she has made all my writerly dreams come true. You are the absolute best. She even doesn’t mind when I have to whisper to her on the phone from my pantry so the kids don’t hear me, or put her on my car’s Bluetooth with all the kids in the back . . . actually, she may not have known about that last one.
For everyone at HarperTeen, for all their hard work on this book—most especially for the gorgeous cover that was everything I could have hoped for and more.
I have an enormous family, and every single one of them is supportive and encouraging to an incredible degree. Thank you to all of you—all my aunts and uncles (including my favorite aunt and uncle); all the family I gained when I married my best friend; all my cousins, most especially my cousin Kelsey Cox, who has always been my
partner in this writing journey through her inspiring and insightful critiques. Let’s have another publishing NYC trip extravaganza sometime soon! Love you, cousin.
I have an amazing group of friends, so thank you for all the playdates, book club meetings, and hundreds of text messages, all of which helped me keep my sanity as I navigated being mom to four extremely small (but so, so adorable) children and writing/editing a book.
Thank you to the Electric Eighteens, who got me through the drafting and editing stage of writing Through the White Woods; it was a pleasure to go on my debut journey with you!
And most especially, a huge thank you to all my fans and readers who have been so encouraging and excited about this book—I hope it lived up to your expectations. Thank you for reading!
For my grandmother, who would have been so proud.
About the Author
Photo credit Forrest Briggs
JESSICA LEAKE is the author of Beyond a Darkened Shore as well as the adult novels Arcana and The Order of the Eternal Sun, both with Skyhorse. She worked for years as a psychotherapist, but even though she loved her clients, she couldn’t stop writing. She lives in South Carolina with her husband, four young children, lots of chickens, and two dogs who keep everyone in line. Visit her at www.jessicaleake.com.
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THROUGH THE WHITE WOOD. Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Leake. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Photograph of landscape © 2019 by Andreas Levers
Digital effects by Sebastien Hue
Cover design by Michelle Taormina
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018952750
Digital Edition APRIL 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-266631-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-266629-1 (trade bdg.)
1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Through the White Wood Page 31
