Petersburg

In her first venture into adult fiction, the author of books for children and young adults has produced a hefty historical saga that makes a compelling read. A lush and boldly imagined re-creation of the 1905 ``dress rehearsal'' for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, it smoothly mixes history and fiction, realism and romance. The principal characters, all participants in revolutionary movements dedicated to the violent overthrow of the czar, are: Alexei, who has risen from peasanthood to become one of the wealthiest men in Russia; Anna, a brilliant pianist and a privileged daughter of the old regime who falls in love with Alexei; Irina, a passionate idealist who deserts the glittering court to fight for the people's cause; and Mishima, Alexei's nephew, a fiery revolutionary in love with Irina. Historical figures depicted with accurate detail include Czar Nicholas II, Trotsky, Gorky and Father Gapon. Other characters are either fictitious or composite portraits based on real people, but all carry conviction and verisimilitude to real life. The scenes in which they take partscenes of passion, plotting, violence in the streets and confrontations with the dreaded secret police, the Okhranasucceed each other at a mounting pace. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates. (August)