The Romanov Empress

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.

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.

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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.

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.)