Nicholas Tchkotoua

His Illustrious Highness Prince Nicholas Tchkotoua (1909-1984) was a Georgian writer and a prominent member of the Order of Malta.[1] He fled his homeland after the takeover by the Bolsheviks in 1921. He was educated in France and Switzerland and settled in the US in 1933 where he met and married Carol Marmon, only daughter of Howard Carpenter Marmon (creator of the Marmon Wasp[2] whilst at the Marmon Motor Car Company). He and his family later moved to Lausanne, Switzerland where he died in 1984.[3]

His Illustrious Highness

Prince Nicholas Tchkotoua
Born(1909-09-24)September 24, 1909
Batumi, Georgia
Died13 May 1984(1984-05-13) (aged 74)
Lausanne, Switzerland
NationalityGeorgian/American
OccupationAuthor and Ambassador of the Order of Malta
Spouse(s)Carol Carpenter Marmon
ChildrenTamara, Zourab, Nina, Charles, Marina, Dimitri
Websitewww.tchkotoua.com
Tchkotoua Family Coat of Arms

In 1949, Tchkotoua published a novel ''Timeless' he wrote in English, claimed as the first-ever internationally published novel written by a Georgian. In the novel, set in Tbilisi, Lausanne and Paris before the First World War, Georgian Prince Shota’s love for his Taya, a Russian princess, remains faithful even when outside forces manipulate their emotions, prise them apart and Shota ends up betrothed to an American. But it is the emotion, rather than the betrothal, that concerns the author. A new, re-edited version of the novel was published in 2008 [4] to some acclaim.[5][6]

Tchkotoua asked that after his death his heart be buried in Georgia. In 1988 his family smuggled it back to the cemetery in Vera, Tbilisi - where it lies to this day.[7]

References
  1. Kersey, John (August 12, 2012). "Members of the San Luigi Orders". www.san-luigi.org. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  2. Donelly, Jim (September 2008). "Howard C Marmon". www.hemmings.com. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  3. http://www.tchkotoua.com
  4. Tchkotoua, Nicholas (2008). Timeless. London: Mta Publications. ISBN 9780955914515. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  5. Winner, David (September 22, 2008). "Timeless". www.ft.com. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  6. Skinner, Peter (June 29, 2011). "Timeless". www.forewordreviews.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  7. Zhahanina, Lizaveta (October 5, 2009). "Georgian Love Story Follows Its Author's Heart". www.geotimes.ge. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
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