The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner
In this fascinating, well-researched biographical novel, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, sister to Queen Alexandra of England, tells how she became Czaritsa Maria, the second last empress of all Russias.
Hers was one of many strategic royal marriages happening across Europe in the mid 1800s.
Vivacious and commanding, Maria conveys the grandeur and excess of royalty up to the outbreak of the Russian revolution.
Mother to Czar Nicholas, there is no love lost between her and her German daughter-in-law Alexandra.
Maria scapegoats her for the downfall of the Russian monarchy, due to Alexandra’s questionable involvement with Grigori Rasputin, the mystic who helps to alleviate the Russian heir’s hemophilia.
C.W. Gortner’s The Romanov Empress will appeal to readers who like long historical novels based on factual events, strong female characters and those intrigued about the last days of the doomed Romanov dynasty.
