Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar: The Prefect's Adventures
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Overview
A librarian with deceptively dangerous skills is sent back in time to Tzarist Russia in this “laugh-out-loud farce” and homage to Muriel Spark (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Never underestimate a librarian. Comfortable padded and in her middle years, Shona McMonagle may look bookish and harmless, but her education at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls has left her with a deadly expertise in everything from martial arts to quantum physics. It has also left her with a bone-deep loathing for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, that scurrilous novel that spread scandalous untruths about the finest educational institution in Edinburgh.
Shona’s skills, her deceptively mild appearance, and her passionate loyalty make her the perfect recruit for an interesting new project: time travel to Tzarist Russia, prevent a gross miscarriage of romance, and—in any spare time—see to it that only the right people get murdered. It’s a big job, but no task is too daunting for a prefect from Miss Blaine’s.
“A delightful addition to the ranks of comic crime.” —The Guardian, UK
Never underestimate a librarian. Comfortable padded and in her middle years, Shona McMonagle may look bookish and harmless, but her education at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls has left her with a deadly expertise in everything from martial arts to quantum physics. It has also left her with a bone-deep loathing for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, that scurrilous novel that spread scandalous untruths about the finest educational institution in Edinburgh.
Shona’s skills, her deceptively mild appearance, and her passionate loyalty make her the perfect recruit for an interesting new project: time travel to Tzarist Russia, prevent a gross miscarriage of romance, and—in any spare time—see to it that only the right people get murdered. It’s a big job, but no task is too daunting for a prefect from Miss Blaine’s.
“A delightful addition to the ranks of comic crime.” —The Guardian, UK
“This absolutely delightful time-traveling murder mystery is perfect for fans of Jasper Fforde as well as Russian history fans who enjoy stories with a sharp sense of humor.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Wojtas’ debut is every bit as lighthearted, levelheaded, inventive, hilarious, and altogether enchanting as its heroine” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Combines Jane Austen’s stylings with the satirical wit of Cold Comfort Farm” —The Scotsman
“A marvelous, laugh-out-loud farce” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Wojtas’ debut is every bit as lighthearted, levelheaded, inventive, hilarious, and altogether enchanting as its heroine” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Combines Jane Austen’s stylings with the satirical wit of Cold Comfort Farm” —The Scotsman
“A marvelous, laugh-out-loud farce” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
- Title: Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar
- Author: Olga Wojtas
- Series: The Prefect's Adventures
- Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 264
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781631941719, 9781631941702, 1631941704, 1631941712
- Resource ID: LLS:9781631941719
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-21T10:30:42Z
Olga Wojtas was born and raised in Edinburgh, but canny readers will have spotted her lack of a traditional Scottish name. Her father was in fact one of the Polish soldiers who settled in the UK after the Second World War, and her mother was a teacher assigned to teach the soldiers English. Olga attended James Gillespie's High School (the same school that Muriel Spark went to and later immortalized in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), where she fell in love with Russian literature: Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar was inspired in roughly equal parts by Muriel Spark and Leo Tolstoy. After graduating from the University of Aberdeen, Olga became a journalist, eventually working in England, France, and Washington, DC, as well as in Scotland. Though she has had more than 30 short stories published in literary magazines and anthologies, Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar is her first novel. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, Alistair. If you are lucky enough to meet her, ask her to tell you about Wojtek the bear.