Maria: Light over Crimea by Dolores Savannah Ponin (Daughters of the Distant Shores Book 2)

 

Published by Dolores Savannah Books

Poland 2026

Original title: Podróż po miłość. Maria #2

Before true Russian landscape painting capturing a realistic vision of native nature was created and developed, by a strange twist of fate Russian art received a great marine painter named Ivan Aivazovsky. The artist came from an Armenian family living in Crimea. He was a pupil of Maksim Vorobyov (1787-1855). The painter devoted himself to seascape from the very beginning of his artistic career, while specializing in this subject, he played a huge role in the development of Russian painting. Ivan Aivazovsky created a plethora of paintings over the course of his long career, combining the traditions of classical landscape composition layout with realistic fidelity of detail. In these paintings, the elemental elements always and everywhere are water, air and light.
 
The romantic mood of Ivan Aivazovsky's paintings is mainly due to the ever-new juxtaposition of daylight or moonlight, as well as the play of the sea waters, which sometimes calmly overflow into the boundless distance or again the raging boats, ships and castaways in the midst of huge waves threatening from all sides. Incidentally, the painter associates with the sea its shores, the port cities of Crimea or Sevastopol's war port, or depicts naval battles, thus celebrating the victories of the Russian naval fleet. Among Ivan Aivazovsky's works there is also no shortage of compositions on biblical themes. On the other hand, the painter achieves the strongest effects in contrastingly composed paintings that show the struggle between light and darkness, which is an essential motif of them.

Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900)
The portrait was created in 1841.
Artist: Alexey Tyranov (1808–1859)

Ivan Aivazovsky's most famous painting is The Ninth Wave, which is a shoreless foaming and agitated sea and a sky covered with clouds from beyond which sunlight shines through, while in the foreground is a group of castaways on a wave-swept, broken and shattered mast. The group of castaways appears remarkably small against the backdrop of a huge wave and a mountain of water that could flood it at any moment.
 
Despite his numerous travels, Ivan Aivazovsky worked best in his hometown of Theodosia, where he even built a house right on the seashore, having the best conditions to create there. In addition to his artistic work, the painter also devoted himself to social activities. Indeed, he opened an Art School and an Art Gallery. He created his own unique style. He never made sketches from nature, yet his works breathe authenticity; his storms and sea mornings let you feel the great and deep sensitivity and perceptiveness of the artist himself.
 
In the 1850s, the artist painted pictures filled with romanticism and the struggle of the individual against the immeasurable and untamed nature. In turn, the 1870s brought him criticism from, among others, Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), who compared Ivan Aivazovsky to the French writer – Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), claiming that “the works of both gentlemen are done for ordinary effect, because they do not reproduce ordinary things, they despise ordinary things.” During the same period, the painter began to take an interest in realism, which became apparent in his works. He also established a relationship with the Peripheral Artists, or the Society of Traveling Exhibitions, who promoted national art that presented social problems, poverty, backwardness and persecution.
 
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Ivan Aivazovsky painted paintings related to it. On the other hand, in the 1880s, when neo-romanticism was in vogue in Europe, the artist painted a series of paintings about Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), thus returning to the romantic marinas. These paintings show the element of water and immense power. About Black Sea (1881) Ivan Krmskoy (1837-1887), who privately had no sympathy for Aivazovsky, said: “In this painting there is nothing but sky and water, but the water is a boundless ocean, not stirred up, but swaying, menacing, infinite, and the sky, if that is possible is even more boundless. This is one of the greatest images I have ever seen in my life.”

The Ninth Wave (1850)
Artist: Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Aivazovsky is one of the characters in the second volume of Dolores Savannah Ponin's trilogy. In addition to the painter, the reader also meets other historical figures on the pages of the novel, but it is Ivan Aivazovsky who plays a significant role here. The others are placed, as if in the background. In Maria it is not really clear which of the leading characters can be considered the main protagonist. It would seem logical for it to be the titular Maria. But are we sure? After all, there is also Emilia, whose fate, as it turns out, did not end at all in the previous volume. There is also her friend Nadire, who knows and understands more than one might think. And there is also the aforementioned Ivan Aivazovsky.
 
This time Dolores Savannah Ponin again takes us on a journey to Turkey, but nevertheless most of the action takes place in the Crimea in Theodosia, where Emilia finally ended up after various life setbacks and tragedies. It was here at the side of Ivan Aivazovsky that the woman arranged her life. However, please do not equate this relationship with romance, as Emilia's relationship with Ivan operates on completely different principles. The reader will also be able to visit St. Petersburg and Paris, and finally end up in Vilnius.
 
It would probably be appropriate at this point to focus on the title character. Who is Maria? Well, Maria is the daughter of Emilia. Some time has passed since the events recounted in volume one. Emilia's daughter is a young girl who stands on the threshold of adulthood. The girl knows no other life than the one in Theodosia surrounded by Tartars and, of course, Uncle Ivan, who has no small influence on her career. One day Aivazovsky decided that he needed a place where he could meet his friends without endangering his wife, who is somehow not very fond of the company haunting the painter's home. Since the political situation in Russia is not interesting, so many want to discuss it. Two fundamental camps are forming, as it were. One is staunch supporters of the tsar, while in the other are his opponents, who still want the death of the ruler. There are also those who are actually indifferent to everything that is going on around them.

The Caucasus (1863)
Artist: Ivan Aivazovsky

And that's how the guesthouse was created, the management of which the painter put in the hands of Emilia. Do not ask me how it happened that Emilia found herself in Theodosia, because I am not going to reveal that. This situation consisted of a number of various events, about which the author does not fail to tell the reader. The narrative is carried out in two directions. On the one hand, we have Maria, who tells us about herself and her life, while on the other, a third-person narrator reports to us the facts about Emilia. As for the historical background, it is, of course, the Crimean War (1853-1856), as well as the actions of revolutionaries, which ultimately led to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II on March 13, 1881.
 
Maria is a novel written in an identical climate as Emilia. Some of the plots that the author started in volume one find their finale here, such as the British plot. During the reading, the reader again has the opportunity to move to the magical world of fairy tales, in which characters familiar to us from history live. On the pages of the book we also meet strictly fictional characters. I must admit that I have always liked this kind of combination of pure fiction and truth. In my opinion, it is a great art to write a story where events from the lives of fictional characters are woven into the fate of authentic characters. Dolores Savannah Ponin did it perfectly.

Brig Mercury Attacked by Two Turkish Ships (1892)
Artist: Ivan Aivazovsky

It should also be added that Maria's characters experience a variety of emotions. In this case, this issue is probably much more developed than in Emilia. Growing up Maria experiences a series of situations that will eventually shape her personality. The girl, like her mother, seeks happiness, but places her feelings not where they should be. The same should be said of Emilia. Loneliness sometimes makes a person take actions that actually only harm him or even lead to tragedy. Sometimes many years have to pass before we can say that we are finally happy. Life can really surprise us, which is exactly what we see in this novel. On the one hand, we are reconciled to the situation and it seems to us that nothing will change anymore, but on the other hand, life writes its own script anyway. In addition, the characters make decisions that only on the surface may seem good. As a result, they can negatively affect the lives of those who are important and whom one loves. 

Finally, I would like to draw attention to the artistry of Dolores Savannah Ponin's writing. The author has a fantastic style that draws you in from the first page. She uses language that is simple and understandable to any reader. She does not introduce linguistic quirks, which sometimes appear in books by other authors. This and the perfectly created plot make Dolores Savannah Ponin's novels a pleasure to read. 

Agnes Anne Rose

translator, essayist, journalist, author