For readers of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir comes a dramatic novel of the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish princess who became the mother of the last Russian tsar.
“This epic tale is captivating and beautifully told.”—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
Barely nineteen, Minnie knows that her station in life as a Danish princess is to leave her family and enter into a royal marriage—as her older sister Alix has done, moving to England to wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son. The winds of fortune bring Minnie to Russia, where she marries the Romanov heir, Alexander, and once he ascends the throne, becomes empress. When resistance to his reign strikes at the heart of her family and the tsar sets out to crush all who oppose him, Minnie—now called Maria—must tread a perilous path of compromise in a country she has come to love.
Her husband’s death leaves their son Nicholas as the inexperienced ruler of a deeply divided and crumbling empire. Determined to guide him to reforms that will bring Russia into the modern age, Maria faces implacable opposition from Nicholas’s strong-willed wife, Alexandra, whose fervor has led her into a disturbing relationship with a mystic named Rasputin. As the unstoppable wave of revolution rises anew to engulf Russia, Maria will face her most dangerous challenge and her greatest heartache.
From the opulent palaces of St. Petersburg and the intrigue-laced salons of the aristocracy to the World War I battlefields and the bloodied countryside occupied by the Bolsheviks, C. W. Gortner sweeps us into the anarchic fall of an empire and the complex, bold heart of the woman who tried to save it.
Praise for The Romanov Empress
“Timely . . . [Gortner’s] ability to weave what reads as a simple tale from such complex historical and familial storylines is impressive. . . . Maria’s life as a royal reads like a historical soap opera.”—USA Today
“Gortner, an experienced hand at recreating the unique aura of a particular time and place, will deftly sweep historical-fictions fans into this glamorous, turbulent, and ultimately tragic chapter in history.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Mesmerizing . . . This insightful first-person account of the downfall of the Romanov rule . . . is the powerful story of a mother trying to save her family and an aristocrat fighting to maintain rule in a country of rebellion.”—Publishers Weekly
“A twist on the tragic story you’ve heard many times before.”—Bustle
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The story Princess Dagmar of Denmark who went on to become the infamous Tsarina Maria Fedorovna. The story covers The life, love and history of “Minnie’s life.
While I was familiar with the Romanov Dynasty I have never enjoyed hard core historical novels. However the author has taken a far different approach and takes the liberty of telling the story from Minnie’s perspective. While some of the writing may not be true, the historical events are. This made reading the book far more enjoyable for me and I could relate to her story, heartbreaks, and love of all things family.
While a longer book, and knowing full well how the story ultimately ends, you will find that you can’t put it down and don’t want the book to end. A brilliant approach to telling the story. If you like historical fiction, this is your Summer read!
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley.
The Romanov Empress is the fictionalized story of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II, the last Romanov Tsar. The story is told from her point of view, and starts with her childhood as Princess Dagmar of Denmark. Born in the mid 1800’s, her family, like most in Europe at the time, intermarried, making their family reunions interesting. Her older sister married The Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria’s heir, and became Queen consort, her older brother the King of Denmark, and her younger brother became King of Greece. Related by marriage to the German Kaiser, this also made WWI, and the eventual downfall of the Romanov’s very interesting.
Maria was a very strong woman. Although she was a Princess, the Kingdom of Denmark was not wealthy like the Romanov’s, and she was raised in what we would say was a “normal” manner. She and her siblings had chores, their Mother made their clothes, and they did not have palaces full of servants. Maria had originally been engaged to Alexander’s older brother, Nicholas (aka Nixa).
Nixa died of meningitis, and his dying wish was that his brother, Alexander, marry Dagmar. Although neither was interested in the other, they both loved Nixa so much that they did indeed marry and Maria (the name she adopted after converting to Orthodoxy) and Alexander feel deeply in love with each other. Maria was a most beloved Empress of Russia. Despite her Danish background, she truly loved the Russian people, and endeared herself to them. She became the head of the Russian Red Cross and started the Russian version of the Humane Society for the fair treatment of animals.
This was a volatile time in Russia. Alexander’s father had freed the serfs, but this was not a well thought out plan, and the uneducated, unskilled serfs flocked to the cities to find better paying jobs. This was happening all over the world, but the staggering size of the Russian Empire amplified the situation, and groups fought and protested for more self-rule and the establishment of a Duma. Even before the Communist Revolution, the Nihilists became known for their bombs and attempts at killing the Emperor and his family. They succeeded in killing Maria’s FIL, Alexander II. This event, and the overall fear of assassination and bombing would be present for the rest of the Romanov reign.
The one part of her life that Maria had trouble with was her children. Although their house was filled with love and respect, her children did what they wanted when it came to marriage. Most famously, her son, the Tsaravich, Nicholas who would become the last Romanov Emperor. He married Alexandra of Hesse, a German principality. Maria was famously anti-German, as were the Russian people, and from the beginning, she and Alexandra did not get along. This animosity increased as Alexandra gave birth to 4 girls before giving birth to the Tsaravich Alexei who suffered from hemophilia and was sickly from birth. Maria’s husband, the Tsar, died young-ish, and Maria didn’t think that Nicholas was ready to be the Emperor. She tried to guide him, as she had been a confidant of her husband, but her son had fallen under the spell of his wife, who was herself under the spell of Rasputin. This book doesn’t go too far into the Rasputin legend, as it is Maria’s story, but you get the sense how distraught Maria was at watching that family disintegrate from the outside.
The story then moves through the outbreak of WWI and the Russian Revolution of 1918. What is apparent is that Nicholas III was ill prepared to lead Russia into the modern world. He inability to adapt to changing world attitudes and political waves guaranteed the end of the Romanov’s. Maria tried desperately to save her family, her Empire, and the Russian people, but to no avail.
This book was very well written and researched. As a huge fan of historical fiction, I always do my own research to see how true to life these fictionalized accounts are. Mr. Gortner is himself a self-professed Romanov fan, remembering a book about them from his childhood. It is easy to understand how these families must have felt during this time period–what in America was known as the Gilded Age, where excess was celebrated and the rich industrialists became richer and were America’s version of royalty, but in Europe, this same excess was the ultimate downfall of many of these Royal families.
Finally, look up photos of Maria–she was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women in the world.
I highly recommend this book if you love historical fiction, especially the Romanov’s. I’m in love with this book, and I can’t wait to read more by Mr. Gortner.
Love the story line in this historical fiction. I even learned a bit and was very interested to explore Russian history further. The narrator was excellent a perfect voice.
I was very familiar with the tragic story of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra and the last Imperial family of Russia, but I was not familiar with the story of his mother, Truly a beautifully written account of the life of the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish girl who became the mother of the last Russian tsar. You will transported to their world of glamour and wealth of the Imperial Court and the Winter Palace. I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves well written historical fiction. I gave this book 5 stars.
When Princess Dagmar of Denmark comes to her new home in Russia at the age of 19, she loses her name, her home, everything she knows. But she comes to love Russia, her dead fiance’s brother (whom she is forced to marry) and makes a life for herself as the Empress Maria Feodorovna.
When I started this book, I imagined I was reading yet another story about Alix, the last empress of Russia, the wife of Nicholas II. Instead, this book is about Nicholas II’s mother.
C. W. Gortner has done a yeoman’s job with his research and this novel is utterly fascinating. I had no idea that even in 1866, when Maria Feodorovna appeared in Russia as a newly-wed 19-year-old, that there were already threats against the Royal family, so much so that they were obliged to be closely guarded even when they went for a walk.
As the pressure against the royals increased, it drove them indoors and away from the Russian people, so that they became even more insulated and unknowing. The scene where Maria’s father-in-law Alexander II of Russia is assassinated in 1881 is one of the most chilling I have ever read.
So one of the messages that comes across in this wonderful novel is that the Russian Royal family had plenty of notice – 50 years in fact – that they were unpopular, but they did nothing about it.
Highly recommended. 5 stars. #cwgortner #theromanovempress
I have been wanting to read this book for a long time now, and I just have not gotten around to it. I finally just picked it up. I’m glad that I did, because this story was amazing. This is definitely one of my top favorite books of 2020. It’s been a while since I’ve anything By C.W. Gortner. This book just makes me want to pick up more from him.
The Romanov Empress is told from the perspective of Maria Feodorovna , she was the mother of Tsar Nicholas II.
The story starts when Maria is a young girl and ends with the abdication of her son. One thing that impressed me about this story was how historically accurate it was. You can tell how meticulously research this was. Gortner even included a bibliography in the back which I loved because I not only enjoy reading historical fiction, but nonfiction as well.
Another thing that really stood out about this book was writing. I think Gortner really captured Maria so well in this, though you see other characters, you are seeing it from her eyes and perspectives. Which is probably a good and bad thing. I think that feud that she had with her daughter-in-law was portrayed well in this, even though you are getting it from Maria Feodorovna perspective. You can tell in some scenes when she is not really being fair to Alix, but then there are some scenes that justify her dislike of her.
Another thing I liked about this story, is that it gives you an overall view, as you’re reading it, about how Nicholas II’s downfall came about. I just started learning about the Romanov myself. So this book was helpful, even though I know there is no doubt some inaccuracy in it, which Gortner himself pointed out, which I really appreciated. Overall, I would highly recommend this. Anyone who loves historical fiction, this is the book for you. I would like to thank Netgalley and Radom house for giving me a free Kindle copy of this book.
I love anything that is about a real person or family in history. I wish there were more books like this one offered on bookbub.com
Very interesting & historical.
The Romanovs certainly were an interesting family! You can’t help but feel sorry for Minnie because she was always competing with her husbands mistress and then there was her strained relationship with Alexandra! A good read!
Very interesting. I loved it
I knew what had happened to the Romanovs and this was the details behind the story. Very tragic.
Great book of the last three generations of Russian tzars, full of historical details cleverly weaved in a mesmerizing story . Kept my attention all times and now I will look for new books from this author
Russian historical fiction with an accurate accounting of the royal family’s last three generations.
Enjoyed it! I’ve read slot of history -including about “Minnie”. the book followed what I knew. Very good read!
Well written using historical facts. Gives understanding of the era and the people.
While I enjoyed every bit of this book, it is very long, which can be daunting for some readers. However, I couldn’t put it down! It gave me great background information that I did not learn in high school or college, which helped explain how Russia got to its place today. The author gives the readers the history and background of why the older Russian tzars made the decisions they made—decisions that eventually caused the death and end of the Tzars dynasty and why Russia behaves today as it does. The length of the book was not an issue as the author kept my interest.
I’ve read several books about the Romanovs; but this was the best, as it gives the readers insight into the reasons decisions were made. Realistic! Very good!
Written in first person I came to like the main character. Not your typical book about the Romanov tragedy. Good read.
If you’re interested in the Romanov era of Russian history. This is a great book.
The history described gave an in depth picture of the Romanov family in particular and the entire European Monarchy in general.
Fascinating read about Russia prior to the revolution.