Kutchinsky's Egg - by Serena Kutchinsky (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A heart-stopping family memoir about art, obsession, and love as the author searches for the spectacular jeweled egg that consumed her father's dreams and spelled her family's downfall.

"An extraordinary family story and a strange, poignant portrait of obsession." --Sophie Elmhirst, New York Times bestselling author of A Marriage at Sea

When she was eleven years old, Serena Kutchinsky's life changed forever. Her father Paul, who owned the high-end jewelry company the House of Kutchinsky, set out to create the world's largest jeweled egg--one to rival Fabergé's masterpieces. He succeeded, but at a ruinous price.

The Argyle Library Egg was astonishing: two feet tall, made of solid gold, and dripping with pink diamonds. But when Paul was unable to secure a buyer, the House of Kutchinsky collapsed, his marriage fell apart, and he sank into a spiral of drink and drugs. Within ten years he was dead. As for the egg, it was seized by business partners and disappeared without a trace.

Over time, the mystery of the egg began to eat away at Serena. Why did her father risk everything for the pursuit of this audacious dream? And where in the world was his extravagant, ill-fated creation, which had been lost for decades and was estimated to now be worth more than £30 million. Desperate for answers, she set out in search of the egg--and an elusive understanding of her late father. The journey begins in London's impoverished East End where her great-great-grandparents arrived as Jewish immigrants from Russia--and ends in the most unexpected of places.

Echoing the intimacy of The Hare with Amber Eyes, Kutchinsky's Egg is a spellbinding historical mystery that explores the glittering yet shadowy world of high-end jewelry, the rise and fall of a family empire, and the complex bond between a father and daughter.

Review Quotes

"A heady mix of intimate family memoir, refugee history, and exploration of the gilded world of fine jewellery, Kutchinsky's Egg is a thrilling read. At its heart, is a daughter's bold and extraordinary quest to understand her father. This is a mesmerising tale, beautifully told. I could not put it down." --Ariana Neumann, New York Times bestselling author of When Time Stopped

"A memoir of fixations, big diamonds, big money, big ambitions, fur coats and grand houses, a pushy matriarch, love and loss, internecine melees, the rise and fall of a family of skilled and aesthetically incomparable Jewish jewellers in Britain. The writing is both intimate and dramatic. The storyteller confides in the reader as she unearths buried truths, secrets, and lies. Utterly brilliant." --Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, columnist for The i Paper and Evening Standard

"An extraordinary family story and a strange, poignant portrait of obsession." --Sophie Elmhirst, New York Times bestselling author of A Marriage at Sea

"As Kutchinsky painstakingly unwinds this generational and globe-spanning story--full of twists, betrayals and startling events--her prose sparkles like the diamond-studded objet d'art at the center of it all... Like The Orchid Thief and The Feather Thief, Kutchinky's Egg is a glittering insider's look at a tragically consuming obsession."--Book Page (starred review)

"Spellbinding . . . The author unearths the story with a journalist's doggedness and a novelist's flair for detail, bravely seeking answers to childhood mysteries many would leave unsolved. This is riveting." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Uncovered feuds, betrayals, hatreds, and unlikely alliances . . . [come together in this] engaging tale of a doomed quest." --Kirkus

"This book sparkles with pride, passion, love, family, heritage, greed, and mystery. Just like its subject, it's a gem." --Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World and Moneyland

"Luxury and obsession collide in this fascinating thriller as finely wrought as the Faberge-style egg masterpiece at its centre. Rich in details, sharp in suspense, and devastating in its revelations. Impossible to put down." --Carol Woolton, author of Vogue: The Jewellery

"Kutchinsky's Egg is a brave and searching excavation of family myth and buried grief. With bold curiosity and palpable heart, Serena Kutchinsky traces how loss, obsession, and silence can shape a destiny--and what it costs to tell the truth about the people we love. This is a memoir about inheritance in all its forms: the stories thrust upon us, the wounds we must carry, and the hard, luminous work of remaking truth from the wreckage left behind." --Sophie Haydock, author of The Flames

"Vulnerable, questing and uniquely moving, Kutchinsky's Egg is a sparkling story of loss, love, and redemption." --Dan Richards, author of Outpost and Overnight

"Kutchinsky's Egg is a wild and fascinating trip, a vivid story of a father's obsession and a daughter's love, but it also explores how we live with our emotional inheritances, and how we ultimately make peace with them." --Octavia Bright, author of This Ragged Grace

About the Author

Serena Kutchinsky is an award-winning journalist known for her creative flair and commitment to uncovering stories that might otherwise remain buried. She is currently head of news at The i Paper, and has previously worked at Sky News, BBC News, and Newsweek. A seasoned public speaker, she hosts talks at leading music and book festivals and serves as a judge for several media awards. She lives in London with her husband and two children, and curates an Instagram account exploring the legacy of the House of Kutchinsky. Kutchinsky's Egg is her first book.