Ewan McGregor is under house arrest in A Gentleman in Moscow
Imagine what it would be like to live full-time in a hotel. A step further: what would it be like if your life depended on it? That thought experiment may be the initial appeal of A Gentleman in Moscow and perhaps explains why the book has sold 4 million copies worldwide since its publication in 2016. Fans include Barack Obama, Tom Hanks – who cited it as one of his 10 favourite books of all time – and Queen Camilla. She recommended it as a lockdown read during the pandemic.