Rasputin's Daughter

This work of fiction is an interesting look at the "bad boy" of Russian history, Rasputin. Through the story of his daughter, Maria's, supposed interrogation by the poet Aleksandr Blok, as well as recollections by Rasputin's assassin, Count Yousoupoff, we are given a look at the last week of the mystic. Josephine Bailey gives life to this work with her spirited performance. She is energetic and lively as we hear the 18-year-old daughter describe her father's last week on earth. The Maria we hear is filled with the energy of adolescence as well as its na•veté and strong-mindedness. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

October 31, 2005
In an endeavor similar to his debut novel, The Kitchen Boy
, Alexander couples extensive research and poetic license, this time turning his enthusiasm toward perhaps the most intriguing player in the collapse of the Russian dynasty: Rasputin. This eyebrow-raising account of the final week of the notorious mystic's life is set in Petrograd in December 1916 and narrated by Rasputin's fiery teenage daughter, Maria. The air in the newly renamed capital is thick with dangerous rumors, many concerning Maria's father, whose close relationship with the monarchy—he alone can stop the bleeding of the hemophiliac heir to the throne—invokes murderous rage among members of the royal family. Maria is determined to protect her father's life, but the further she delves into his affairs, the more she wonders: who, exactly, is Rasputin? Is he the holy man whose genuine ability to heal inspires a cult of awed penitents, or the libidinous drunkard who consumes 12 bottles of Madeira in a single night, the unrestrained animal she spies " holding housekeeper by her soft parts"? Does this unruly behavior link him to an outlawed sect that believes sin overcomes sin? The combination of Alexander's research and his rich characterizations produces an engaging historical fiction that offers a Rasputin who is neither beast nor saint, but merely, compellingly human.