Irina Allen is a historian and former Moscow museum researcher. She lives in London with her husband. "White Other", Irina"s first novel, is the story of Marina, a Russian Muscovite. The book spans eighteen years of her life, ten of which were in the UK. Together we travel through Moscow, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and, of course, — England. The book describes meetings, partings, marriages, jobs, friends and gives us her observations of British and Russian people... Surprised at how many of her former compatriots are living in the UK, she comes to understand that a new wave of immigration has commenced — Russian women in search of happiness, which was lacking in their homeland. The book is at times moving, thought provoking and humorous. It will certainly be interesting for those curious about life in the UK. "... form filling had become automatic for Marina: first name, surname, never participated in terrorist attacks, never imprisoned, etc, etc... Ethnic origin? She ticked the box "White". British, from the EU, or Other? She ticked the box "Other", so arrived at "White Other". Her identity had finally been found. She burst out laughing..."