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The Romanov Empress

A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
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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    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2018

      Gortner, who has chronicled the lives of the Tudor, Medici, and Borgia noble families and most recently Hollywood royalty, in the form of Marlene Dietrich (Marlene), dives into the dramatic final years of the Romanov dynasty. Maria Feodorovna, wife to Tsar Alexander III and mother to Tsar Nicholas II, has a singular viewpoint on the drastic changes in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Born to a royal though impoverished family in Denmark, she embraces a new religion, a new language, and a new land in order to wed the heir to the Russian throne. He dies shortly before their wedding and she marries his brother instead. Decades of decadence and family strife are followed by immense political upheaval. Assassinations, affairs, exile, and illness take their toll on the royal family's ability to govern a changing Russia. Through the voice of Maria, Gortner succeeds in adding a new perspective to the well-known story of Nicholas, Alexandra, and Rasputin. As a sister, wife, mother, and empress, she is a fierce and dynamic narrator. VERDICT A solid recommendation for readers of historical fiction, especially those who favor the lives of kings and queens. [July 16 marks the centennial of the murder of Tsar Nicholas and his family by the Bolsheviks.--Ed.]--Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      May 15, 2018
      A Danish princess becomes a Russian czarina, mother to the last Romanov czar.In his 10th historical novel, Gortner (The Vatican Princess, 2016, etc.) creates a vibrant portrait of imperial Russia, narrated by the woman at its throbbing center: Maria Feodorovna. The daughter of Denmark's King Christian IX, Minnie, as she was known, was destined to marry into royalty, just as her older sister, Alix, did when she married Queen Victoria's son, Bertie. Faced with a marriage to the czarevich, Nicholas, she was surprised to find herself falling in love with "his gentle spirit and noble soul." But suddenly, he was dying, exacting a promise from Sasha, one of his brothers, to wed Minnie. When Minnie balks at the idea of marrying a man so unlike her beloved Nixa, her mother rebukes her sternly: "Think of everything you can achieve," not only as "conscience and counsel" for her husband, but also for the good of Denmark. As Maria Feodorovna, she arrives in a nation beset by turmoil and violence. Although her father-in-law, Czar Alexander II, enacted liberal changes, such as abolishing serfdom, Nihilists and anarchists cry for more: "they sow terror in the hope that I'll either grant reforms or abdicate. Preferably abdicate," Alexander tells Minnie. "They have no use for a tsar." While Russian royalty reside in opulent palaces and bedeck themselves in stunning arrays of precious jewels, peasants live in abject poverty. Visiting a Red Cross hospital, Maria is shocked by the "searing display of the plight of the poor." When Alexander II is assassinated, Sasha emerges as an oppressive ruler, trying to contain bloody dissension. When he dies of illness, he is succeeded by his son, Nicholas, whose czarina, Alexandra--whom Maria vehemently dislikes--has her own ideas about Russian supremacy, fueled in part by her alliance with the unsavory Rasputin. Politics and war form the backdrop of a story more closely focused on court gossip, family tensions, and the arrogance and isolation that led the Romanovs to their doom. "We existed in a dream," Maria reflects, "enclosed in our lacquered splendor."A briskly narrated tale of power and revolution.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 25, 2018
      Gortner’s mesmerizing historical novel (following The Vatican Princess) depicts the remarkable life of the mother of the last Russian tsar. In the 1860s, Princess Dagmar of Denmark (aka Minnie) succumbs to the charms of Tsarevich Nixa, son of Tsar Alexander II, and heir to the Russian throne. Their joyous engagement is thwarted when Nixa contracts meningitis and dies; on his deathbed, he asks his brother Sasha to marry Minnie. Sasha, a member of the Imperial Guard, is gruff and initially unappealing to Minnie, but she agrees to marry him. When revolutionaries strike, killing Tsar Alexander II, and Sasha is crowned Tsar Alexander III, Minnie takes on her duties as Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. With Russia still ripe for rebellion, Minnie helps Sasha lead the country and supports charitable causes while trying to protect her family from harm. After Sasha’s death and her son Nicky’s coronation, Minnie’s influence over the new tsar dwindles when Nicky marries Alexandra, who admires Rasputin. This insightful first-person account of the downfall of the Romanov rule will appeal to history buffs; at its core, it’s the powerful story of a mother trying to save her family and an aristocrat fighting to maintain rule in a country of rebellion, giving it an even broader appeal. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from June 1, 2018
      Though many are familiar with the story of Nicholas and Alexandra and their doomed children, Gortner (Marlene, 2016) shines a rose-tinted fictional spotlight on Empress Maria Feodorovna. Formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Minnie weds the heir to the Russian throne at 19. Acclimating herself to the heady Russian culture of the late nineteenth century, she becomes czarina and the mother of Nicholas II, destined to be the last Russian czar. When an ill-prepared and ill-advised Nicholas ascends to the throne, he seals his family's tragic fate by naively refusing to accept any proposed court reforms. Equally as entrenched as her husband, Alexandra falls under the sway of the nefarious Rasputin. Minnie, however, recognizes the need to accept change. Struggling against her son, her daughter-in-law, and the tides of history in an ill-fated effort to preserve some vestiges of an outmoded way of life, she bears witness to the Romanov dynasty's inevitable collapse. Gortner, an experienced hand at recreating the unique aura of a particular time and place, will deftly sweep historical-fiction fans into this glamorous, turbulent, and ultimately tragic chapter in history. Publication is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the murder of the czar's family on July 16, 1918, so expect interest to be high.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

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