Russia in the mid-nineteenth century is roiled by social and political unrest. Students protest, serfs demand their freedom, the government of the Tsar increases its repression. Then a young man writes a book – MONKEY – and something in the world changes. Rumors about this book abound, but few have set eyes on it, and its author, Nikolai Barakov, has disappeared. Fearing for his safety, his friend Marko Volchek searches for him in the salons of the intelligentsia, the bordellos of St. Petersburg, and the underground caves of Odessa, often just a step ahead of powerful and dangerous forces also seeking Nikolai and his book. But even graver danger may lie within the book itself for it is possible that Nikolai has encoded in the pages of MONKEY the greatest secret of all, the secret of traveling through time. Illustrated by Judith Allen-Efstathiou

“Bushell’s writing is utterly gorgeous. She writes with remarkable control and her skill in character development is as impressive as her ability to bring distant historical figures and events to life.” – Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility

“Monkey is alive. It reverberates in a way I have never experienced. I could not stop reading.” – Lynn Siefert, author of Coyote Ugly and Little Egypt