Further Reading
The best history of Estonia available is still Estonia and the Estonians by Toivo U. Raun (Stanford, California, Hoover Institution Press, 2nd edition, 2001), which includes good coverage of the first independence period. For a wider view of the Baltic states, see A Concise History of the Baltic States by Andrejs Plakans (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011).
A Little Bit of Estonian
Estonian is similar to Finnish, and completely unlike the Romance or Germanic languages that have shaped English. When you see any Estonian words in the text – names of people, streets, towns, etc. – remember that every letter is pronounced. Even two vowels together are sounded separately. And unless you want to learn Estonian, don’t worry about the accents.
Here are some useful words, which appear from time to time in the text. Any Estonian spoken by characters in the story is shown in italics. There isn’t very much.
Tere! – Hello!
Härra – Mr.
Proua – Mrs., or, as in German, used to address any woman older than her mid-twenties.
Preili – Miss, or used to address any young woman.
Terviseks! – Cheers!
Ülemkomissar – Chief Inspector
Komissar – Inspector
Plats – Place, Square
Pealinna Uudised – Capital City News
Copyright
© Allan Martin 2020.
Allan Martin has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
First published in 2020 by Sharpe Books.