Lost Roses takes place in Russia, France, and America between 1912 and 1921. During this time, Russia faced a violent revolution and other parts of Europe became embroiled in the First World War. The novel focuses mainly on the uprising and fallout of the revolution in Russia, with other characters being directly or indirectly affected by the state of the world amidst the war.

The novel’s first chapter opens in 1914, as Russia is already fraught with tension due to the poor living conditions of the working classes and the gap between the rich and the poor. Sofya and her family experience this tension firsthand but are initially reluctant to give it serious attention. During this same year, Russia joined the war effort against Germany, and the human and economic cost of the war exacerbated the social tension that was already present, especially as Russia suffered a series of devastating military losses. Parts 1 and 2 of the novel explore the shadow of war and the buildup to what is considered the true revolution, beginning in 1917—the year that opens the novel’s Part 3. In the spring of 1917, protestors took to the street demanding food, which led to outbreaks of violence. In March, Tsar Nicholas II agreed to abdicate, making way for a new government led by the Imperial Duma (the Russian parliament). Though this shift in power was ostensibly a pro-democratic reform, it quickly became apparent that the Duma ruled in the interests of wealthy industrialists and the aristocracy. Later that year, the Bolshevik Party, under the direction of Vladimir Lenin, led a coup against the existing government. This led to a civil war between factions known as the Red—the communist Bolsheviks, led by Lenin—and the White—a fractious group that included civil society liberals along with monarchists who wanted to see Tsar Nicholas restored to the throne. The following year, the royal family was executed and a new political system was established.

In the author’s note following the novel, Martha Hall Kelly explains how many aspects of the work were taken from real historical sources. For example, Eliza’s on-the-fly American Central Committee for Russian Relief was a real organization developed by the real-life Eliza Woolsey Mitchell. At this time, many Russian immigrants were arriving in America and having trouble finding safe jobs and places to live. Several of the novel’s events, such as Eliza helping to sell the Russians’ handmade crafts, are taken directly from recorded history. Yet while Eliza and many of those in her social circle are real historical figures, Sofya and her family are fictional creations. However, the author drew on biographies of several noblewomen living through this tumultuous time, in particular the countess Edith Sollohub, to create an informed character.