The Romanov Empress

A well written book with well researched facts throughout. Interesting . It made me want to learn more about this time period in Russia. Isn’t that the goal of historical fiction after all?

As someone who reads a lot of historical fiction and has a particular interest in Russian history, I absolutely inhaled every page of this book! It covers all the drama leading up to the Russian Revolution from an intimate family perspective. Only this family happens to be the Tsar’s.empress

Maria “Minnie” Feodorovna, mother of the last Tsar, Nicolas II, provides the focal point of the novel. This is her multi-generational story, spanning the years from 1864 to 1920. It begins with Dagmar (her birth name) as a teenager. A Danish princess (and sister to Alexandra who becomes the wife of England’s Edward VII), Minnie becomes engaged to the Russian heir Nicholas, who dies shortly before they are to be married. Instead, Minnie marries her dead fiance’s younger brother, who eventually becomes Tsar Alexander III and they go on to have six children.

Despite all their wealth, power, and opulent lifestyle, what works so well about this book is that this remains a family dealing with same internal difficulties common to most families; disputes over how to raise the kids, parents trying to control unacceptable behavior in their children, and worry about finding each child a suitable mate. But with that as a foundation, C. W. Gortner then layers in the struggle between autocratic rulers trying desperately to hold onto ancient power in a backward country that increasingly values more representative government. Whether to answer this struggle by tightening control or granting more freedom is at the heart of Romanov family history.

Minnie makes an interesting heroine. She wholeheartedly embraces Russia as her adopted country and grows to deeply love her husband. After she becomes a widow, she remains committed to the Romanov dynasty, but recognizes the need to address the deep suffering of the peasants in her country. Above all, she understands what it takes to honor the responsibility for governing and realizes early on that her son and daughter-in-law as woefully inept. Because instead of prioritizing their royal responsibilities and the escalating political climate of their country, both Nicolas II and his wife Alexandra remain totally fixated on each other and the health of their only son Alexei, who has inherited the deadly disease of hemophilia.

Minnie then becomes the reader’s stand-in witness as Russia confronts repeated violent assassinations, the debacle of Rasputin, World War I, and finally, the Russian Revolution. With so much true historical drama to incorporate, it’s a compelling read. And if, like me, you know the tragic end of the story, it is sometimes unsettling. I became fond of Minnie and so many of the other historical figures, I kept wanting to warn them all what was coming. But I guess that’s exactly why this is such good historical fiction. Enjoy!

Another wonderful historical read from C.W. Gortner. The life of the penultimate Empress of Russia, Marie, is related with all its triumphs and tragedies. Those who have only looked at the end of the monarchy from its last imperial couple, Nicholas and Alexandria will find Marie’s view enlightening.

Great read. Very informative about a desperate time in history. Really get to know and feel for the characters.

Minnie/Maria, a Danish princess who becomes the mother of the last Russian tsar, shares her memories.

Have you ever wondered what led to the downfall of the Romanov family in Russia? Then look no further! Ever since reading Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons years ago, I have been fascinated by stories set in Russia, and this one was no exception. While Tatiana focused on a poor Russian commoner, The Romanov Empress focused on the polar opposite, the ostentatiously rich lifestyle of the royal family. Told from the perspective of Anastasia’s grandmother, Minnie (renamed Maria after she married a Romanov), I was spellbound by this story as it followed the Romanov family from the late 1860s, all the way to its tragic end in 1917 with the Bolshevik revolution. Even though I knew it did not end well for Nicholas II and his family, I found myself hoping their story would end differently.

I would definitely recommend this for fans of strong female characters and Philippa Gregory, and I look forward to more from this author!

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

5 stars

This is Minnie’s story as told by her. It is the mid-1860’s in Denmark. Minnie is the second daughter of newly elevated Danish royalty. Her father became King and her mother, she later sees, is the power behind the throne.

Following her sister Alix’s marriage to Prince Albert “Bertie”, Queen Victoria’s son, Minnie was betrothed to Nixa. Nixa was the heir apparent to the Russian throne. Dubious, but willing to meet him, Minnie falls in love. Following a fall from his horse, Nixa came down with spinal meningitis and passed away. Minnie was heartbroken. On his deathbed, Nixa told Minnie to marry his brother Sasha. Sasha is now the heir to the throne. Upon her marriage to Sasha who is more brutish and not near as refined as Nixa was, her name is changed to Maria Fedoroyna and she must convert to the Russian Orthodox faith.

Minnie’s father-in-law, Tsar Alexander II is very kind to her. He is being threatened and pursued by the nihilists. Alexander questions Minnie’s happiness. She equivocates. Sasha is in no way ready to take the throne. He carouses and drinks too much. He is unaware of current events. Alexander asks Minnie to subtly educate him in the ways of becoming the Tsar.

Minnie gave birth to her first child. It was a son Sasha named Nicholas in honor of his grandfather. Tsar Alexander said it was a fortuitous name. Nicholas was a slight child, unlike his siblings who were “real” Romanovs.

When the Nihilists set a bomb at a site where the royal family was to dine, several people were killed. But the royal family survived because while they were waiting in the next building over, Sasha was late to the affair. Tsar Alexander wanted them all arrested and he would not be lenient as he was with an earlier attempt on his life. He set up the Okhrana, a new and powerful side of the secret police.

Sometime later, the anarchists are successful. They murder Tsar Alexander II with a bomb. Sasha becomes Tsar Alexander III immediately. Minnie is now the Tsarina and she has serious doubts about the family’s future. Nicholas is their heir apparent.

When sixteen-year old Nicholas falls for a twelve-year old impoverished German girl from Hesse that he has nicknamed “Alicky,” Minnie resents her and takes an immediate dislike to her. She has a distrust of all things German that goes way back.

When Nicolas is twenty-three, he is still determined to marry Alicky whose proper name is Alexandra in defiance of his parents. Sasha passes away due to kidney failure following another assassination attempt on the royal train. He was trapped for a while under some shrapnel and was badly injured. On his deathbed, he finally gives Nicholas permission to marry Alicky, or Sunny as he has come to call her.

Minnie has a very difficult relationship with her daughter-in-law. Sunny is unhappy for she believes now that she is empress, she should be given first place in all affairs. But that is not the Russian way. The Empress Dowager is still given the primary position in society. Sunny won’t go to public affairs and keeps mainly to her own devices. She doesn’t like living in the city and retreats often with Nicholas to the country estate of Tsarskoe Selo and is barely civil to Minnie. She only very reluctantly converted to the Russian Orthodox faith.

Minnie decides to withdraw from the apparent competition, for Nicholas takes Sunny’s side in every argument. This is a decision she will regret. She sets about getting her other children married and wants to see them happy. She travels to Denmark to visit her parents, and following the death of her aged mother, to visit her ailing father. She loses her son George to consumption.

Sunny has formed a relationship with a medium. Soon, the news about her consulting mystics gets about town. It is a huge scandal – in direct opposition to the Church. The political is heating up again, but all anyone wants to talk about is the Tsarina’s obsession with mystics and the occult.

Nicholas is ignoring the affairs of state. Minnie receives ministers in her chambers who are all complaining about Nicholas’ handling of the business of the empire. It is clear to Minnie that Alexandra is unsuitable and is distracting Nicholas far too much from his duties.

A war with Japan and Nicholas’ inept direction of the troops and unpreparedness made his reputation take a dive. The assassination of one of his war ministers only exacerbated the problem. Credit for the murder was taken by a new group calling themselves the Social Democrats. These people were inspired by the socialist leaning of Karl Marx. Alarmingly, this group was gaining adherents and growing by leaps and bounds.

During all this strife, Alexandra finally gave both to a boy they named Alexi. They were overjoyed. When Alexi’s umbilical cord would not stop bleeding, the doctor pronounced that Alexi was a hemophiliac. The disease ran in Queen Victoria’s family, and Alexandra was the Queen’s granddaughter.

The word around the capital was talk of a revolution. The people were angry about the war with Japan and the heavy losses suffered by the Russian troops. The distrust and antipathy against Nicholas was reaching a rabid level. A peaceful march to the palace devolves into a riot. Many, many are killed under Nicholas’ orders. Minnie and the rest of the royal family despair, for this time Nicholas has gone too far.

Moscow erupted in civil unrest. Factory works went on strike. Martial law was declared. When Nicholas finally acceded to form a constitution, the rioting was temporarily quelled. However, one agitator was not giving in. His name was Vladimir Lenin. He named his party the Bolsheviks. He demanded power by the proletariat and the abolition of the imperial rule. Nicholas ordered Minnie to go to Denmark and not return until he said so.

Upon her return to Russia nearly a year later, the Social Democrats are even more powerful and are calling for the Tsar’s abdication.

Alexandra has a new “friend.” His name is Grigori Rasputin. He is known as a lecher, orgies and public drunkenness. Hardly the kind of association for a Tsarina. He claims to be a mystic and prays over people to heal them. Minnie heads to Tsarskoe Selo to find out for herself. He has begun to recommend to Alexandra certain politicos that should be appointed to the Duma. She, of course recommends them. They will vote whichever way Rasputin has told them.

When a letter of Alexandra’s to Rasputin is published in a newspaper, more civil unrest breaks out. The prime minister is murdered. Minnie implores Nicholas to dismiss Rasputin before Alexandra’s reputation suffers any more.

With Russia at war once more, this time with Germany, the situation in Russia has gone from bad to worse. The plot to murder Rasputin succeeds. The bitter winter freezes to death the soldiers in the hospital wards. Nothing is working right. They cannot get fuel to heat the hospital or their homes. People are starving and begging for food. The war is going badly. At Alexandra’s behest, Nicholas decides to take over the military himself despite the fact that he knows nothing about war. He will take no counsel. By March of 1917, the end had begun.

Minnie and a few members of her family must flee across Russia to avoid capture by the Bolsheviks. When put under house arrest, it came as no surprise. When word arrives of the deaths of Nicholas and his family, Minnie refuses to believe it. She cannot believe it. The horror is too great. She is convinced to leave Russia on a British ship – but only if they’ll take other refugees with them. She travels to England and then back to Denmark where she lives out her days.

Minnie was never a shy or retiring woman. She was outspoken, sometimes to her detriment. But she lived well despite all that she suffered. She was at the time the wealthiest woman in the world. From her very humble beginnings, this was quite the change. But, later in life she carefully forgot that part of her life when she berated her daughter-in-law Alexandra for living so plainly. None of us are immune to the vagaries of reconstructing our memories.

This book describes Tsarist Russian very well. Its landscape and its people are vividly portrayed in beautiful language. The unrest of the common people and those who fan the flames are discussed in detail. The glitter and pomp of the court; the dances and suppers which are in deep contrast to the poverty of the ordinary peasants are all described very well. It talks about the upheavals and dissent that occurred in Russian in the early 20th Century. It describes the beginnings of the revolution and its inevitable conclusion.

It is very well written and is laid out in a linear fashion. It is easy to read for both historians and Russian aficionados. I don’t know how historically accurate it is, for while I have read much about Russia, Minnie herself is a fairly new character for me. But, the book was truly enjoyable. I liked reading about this strong and determined woman. This is my first book by C.W. Gortner and I can guarantee that I will be looking at his other books. It was both an interesting and exciting read.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Ballantine for forwarding to me a copy of this most entertaining and informative book for me to read and enjoy.