Product Description
This excellent volume includes biographies of more than twenty women of the Russian Imperial Family, from the daughters of Tsar Paul I to the present-day claimant to the Russian imperial throne.
The Grand Duchesses is an unprecedented compilation of information regarding the Romanovs and Russia.
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful way to learn history!
- Awesome Book
- Love it!
- Anastasia Romanov
- Not that good
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Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 (The Royal Diaries)
Carolyn Meyer
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0439129087 |
Amazon.com
Anastasia is a carefree young duchess, daughter of Nicholas Alexandrovitch Romanov, tsar of all the Russias in 1914. While her father attends to the turbulent affairs of a vast and complex country, Anastasia's major concerns are how to get out of her detested schoolwork to play in the snow, go ice skating, or have picnics. She wears diamonds and rubies, and every morning her mother tells her which matching outfit she and her three sisters shall wear that day. Slowly a hint of future trouble enters her happy, pampered life. Anastasia's younger brother, the future tsar, is a hemophiliac--a "bleeder" who cannot stop bleeding if he is cut or bruised. Anastasia begins to learn that all is not well in the outside world, either. Not everyone in Russia worships her father as she does, and the Germans are about to declare war on Russia. Anastasia's world gradually deteriorates, as reported in her youthful, often playful journal.
As Russia entered World War I, hunger and poverty grew among the peasants, and the Romanov ruling family began to lose favor, culminating in their murders--including Anastasia's--by Bolshevik revolutionaries. This fictionalized diary of the mischievous youngest daughter's last four years gives a fascinating glimpse into a life of unlimited wealth--and the subsequent downward spiral. Historical notes, family trees, and photographs round out Carolyn Meyer's compelling contribution to the popular Royal Diaries series. (Ages 9 to 14) --Emilie Coulter
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful way to learn history!.......2007-09-28
We have really learned history from the Royal Diary series. It gives a wonderful time frame to set history in. It really helps you to remember what you need to know!
Awesome Book.......2006-11-28
I'm a fan of the Royal Diaries series, and this is the best of the books. I read this book over and over again. I liked the way that you could tell that the children, especially Anastasia and Alexei, grew up throughout the four years that the novel took place. I also liked the glimpse it gave of the lavish lifestyle that the Romanovs led, and I was extremely saddened to learn of their fate. I do not believe that Anna Anderson was really Anastasia. I think that Anastasia died along with her family that fateful day in July. But if you would like to read the Royal Diaries series, this is a great book to start off with.
Love it!.......2006-11-27
I liked this book A LOT Cos it showed Anastasia life befor she was killed.And Cannot understand why Anna Anderson Would Pretend to be Anastasia! (DNA says so) Sometimes the Plot would get a little boring but it always went back up to Good.I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Anastasia Romanov.......2006-07-04
This book gets only exciting at the end when the Romanovs get arrested. 'till then, Anastasia led a boring life. I do not recommend this book to anyone, and do not be fooled by the other reviewers, this book is definitely not good. ( But gets slightly better at the end)
Not that good.......2006-07-03
I do not think this book is as good as I thought it would be. It is a very boring diary and definitely the Marie Antoinette book is better.I do not like the book about Cleopatra much either.The book on Anastasia just talks about when she goes to picnics and other palaces and when she went on yatchs. Since I heard so many good reviews on this book, I thought on buying this book, but it turnes out it is'nt that good. I cannot believe people actually like this book even. Anastasia led a boring life and she recorded it in her boring diary.
Book Description
After the firing squads of the Russian Revolution murdered Czar Nicholas II, Czarina Alexandra, and almost every other member of the Romanov family, there appeared in a small coastal village of western France a grand duke and duchess who proclaimed themselves to be the new monarchs of Russia.
The grand duchess was Victoria Melita, nicknamed Ducky. To begin with, she was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria as well as of Czar Alexander of Russia. Her sister was the remarkable Queen Marie of Romania, and her intricate family connections with the rulers of the world were almost unprecedented. The first cousin not only of King George V but also of Kaiser Wilhelm and Czar Nicholas, she had previously been married to Ernst Ludwig, grand duke of Hesse and the Rhine, but this relationship was destroyed by dark secrets, a betrayal that filled her with bitterness and shame.
Then, in a scandal that shocked the royal world, she married Kirill, a cousin of the late czar of Russia. She had married and divorced one of her first cousins and then married another--her father's nephew, and then her mother's nephew.
The family opposition was so great that Victoria Melita and Kirill were stripped of their wealth and their titles before being banished from Russia. When they were finally allowed to return, they tried in vain to bring democratic reforms to the dying, autocratic monarchy in a desperate effort to save it.
Trapped, inevitably, by the revolution, they managed to make an incredible and perilous escape, which led to a long life in exile abroad as pretenders to the throne.
Victoria Melita had never aspired to play the role of an empress without a throne. The shadowy life of a royal pretender was the last thing this strong and independent woman had ever wanted. However, her passionate nature had centered itself totally upon her adored second husband, and, now, as Kirill set up his imperial court in the French fishing village of St. Briac and assumed the title of emperor of Russia, Victoria Melita became his empress and for twelve years proudly worked by her husband's side for the restoration of the monarchy.
And then, unexpectedly and brutally, her world collapsed again, and her inability to compromise almost brought her to ruin.
A Fatal Passion is the story of great wealth and privilege when rival royal families vied for position and power even as they were about to lose almost everything in the First World War. Among the few who survived the painful times was Victoria Melita, one of the most beautiful and liberated women of her era.
The book is set against the majestic canvas of Queen Victoria's far-flung empire, the intrigues of the royal courts of Europe, and the exotic splendor and fantastic events of imperial Russia as it balanced on the precipice of disaster. It culminates in the turbulent era of ruthless dictators and the advent of the Second World War.
Through the use of private diaries and letters previously unpublished, as well as exclusive interviews with many of the surviving principals, Michael John Sullivan has revealed the heart and mind of a remarkable woman, who, for too long, has been largely overlooked by history.
Customer Reviews:
You'll either love it or hate it.......2004-11-05
This is not a terrible biography, but I have to agree with the reviewer who said the author is way too enamored of his subject to be objective. He's not the best writer in the world, and he does his subject no service by romanticizing; being melodramatic (that title!), and/or speculating about her life and the people who surround her...It's difficult to write about someone who ordered her personal papers destroyed, which must be why Mr. Sullivan indulges in speculation at times. I preferred John Van der Kiste's "Princess Victoria Melita" as the better biography of this granddaughter of Queen Victoria; it's a far more balanced biography than Mr. Sullivan's.
A Fatal Passion is a fatal flop..........2002-10-20
I have at least 100 different books about the Romanovs in my personal library, and I have to say that this is the bottom of the barrel. The writing is trite, the research is flawed, and there are so many inaccuracies that I question this book being called non-fiction. There were so many things Sullivan could have developed in greater depth--especially the relationship between Victoria and her sister. Of course, Ducky was such a shallow individual that I imagine it must have been difficult to write a biography about her. Past reviewers seemed to either love or hate this book. I suspect that the raves came from Sullivan's friends. Any historian familiar with Romanov history will identify this book for what it is--a very flawed attempt to make a minor character in Russian/German/English history into a major one.
Royal Pain.......2002-07-23
This is the biggest lot of historical nonsense. Sullivan has an
irritating style and a gushing attitude towards his subject
(either he's related to Ducky or madly in love with her). He
cannot get over how impossibly wonderful, gorgeous, perfect, etc
he thinks she was. This is a totally inappropriate stance for a
historian towards a subject. He also trashes everyone Ducky knew
to make her look better. Sullivan's treatment of the murdered
Empress Alexandra is particularly cruel and unnecessary. Bottom
line: Ducky was an overrated, frumpy, greedy historical footnote.
Cyril wanted to be Emperor, so why didn't he start by executing
traitors like himself and his wife? Their behavior was inexcusable, even during a revolution. This book is inexcusable
as a history or as a biography. Don't waste your time or money.
A Magnificent Historical Biography.......2000-12-07
This was an immensely enjoyable and fascinating book from beginning to end. The author certainly did a superlative job in gathering and presenting the facts and placing them in a very skillful and compelling narrative. So often history comes across as dull and lifeless, but not here. Sullivan has a rare talent for dramatic construction and detail which ignites the story and makes it fascinating to follow. I really enjoyed his character descriptions and the clever way he created the time and place and unique sensibility of a long-passed era. I find many of the critiques here rather difficult to comprehend. Maybe some readers had been misled or misinformed as to what type of book they would be reading. For some of the more vicious reviews, I can only assume these readers would be more at home in a ultra-hip and downbeat modern subject matter. Certainly Victoria Melita was no beauty by our current standards, but the author fully explains this and only references her in the then estimations and standards of her own era. These rather mean-spirited and extremely carping criticisms aside, I think anyone who wants to read a wonderfully written historical biography will fully appreciate this book and not be disappointed.
An Extremely Well- Written Book.......2000-08-29
I really don't know where to begin. I read this book a year ago and am reviewing it now only in response to the extraordinarily absurd and unfair customer reviews that I recently read here. I am 36, a Phd in English Lit and teach at a local college. By any reasonable and fair criteria of review, this book is exceptionally well-written. The author Sullivan has a wonderful way of using words and an unusual gift for weaving a narrative that is both dynamic and engaging. His style equally entertains and informs. Although I am not a historian, I can appreciate his extensive and thorough research. Of course the book has flaws - but they are relatively minor ones, and certainly not the awful errors that the incredibly shallow and mean-spirited critics on this page seem so convulsed. How curious to me that this excellent biography has seemed such a lightning rod for these acutely negative people. In an age where criticism is 100% personal and subjective, it is a true study in psychology when these highly prejudiced and obviously bitter people gleefully attack a work such as this with their sharpened stilettos. Imagine someone writing a review and basing an entire negative attack on the opinion that the book's subject is not beautiful in their own estimation. Obviously Victoria Melita is no beauty for today's standards, but Sullivan bases his estimation on numerous quotes which show her as a beauty by the standards of a different world a century ago. Why anyone should have trouble accepting this fact of changing fashion and taste and cruelly dismiss the book because of it - I simply don't understand this mind-set. I think the fact that Sullivan is a young, handsome male who comes off as privileged, if not aristocratic himself, has antagonized many readers (liberals, men-hating feminists, ect) and made them resentful and jealous. There can seemingly be little other excuse for these hostile and unfair critiques. Any open-minded, intelligent reader without some extreme agenda would find this book to be what it is - not the greatest biography ever written, but certainly a fascinating, entertaining and extremely well-written historical work - one which is more than worthy of a long and careful read.
Book Description
Anastasia--the name has become synonymous with enigma. the story of the youngest daughter of the last Russian czar has become one of the world's most favorite romantic fascinations, and is one of the strangest, saddest, most haunting riddle of the twentieth century: Did she escape the massacre of the Russian Royal family in 1917?James Blair Lovell's exhaustive search for the truth culminates in the definitive book, the last word on the mystery of Anastasia. Drawn form eyewitness testimony, medical and scientific study, handwriting analysis, and a cache of thousands of documents, letters, paintings, private photographs, and audio tapes, Anastasia: The Lost Princess separates the facts from the myths, and establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the identity of the real Anastasia. Filled with romance, intrigue, drama, and startling revelation, it is Anna Anderson's true story.
Customer Reviews:
I'm so glad I read this book........2007-03-10
I was a bit hesitant in deciding whether or not Anna Anderson was really Anastasiaor just another impostor. Yes, there was the DNA evidence, but I have always been a faith person and everything I'd read so far suggested she knew the things that only Anastasia would.
After reading this book, however, I'm convinced that Anna Anderson was NOT Anastasia. Thank God. Her behavior was so embarrassing for her to be a Grand Duchess. I'm sure Anastasia was not a perfect saint, but I'm still sorry that her name has been marred by this delusional lady.
An indepth study.......2006-11-04
This book is both an indepth study into the Imperial Family as it is Anna Anderson. Lovell is of course like all authors baised, but he does a good job presenting evidence for Anna Anderson being Anastasia.
This book came out before the DNA tests, and actually raises some questions that have not been answered by the DNA tests.
Additionally the Fifth Daughter story, is only a theory, one which even Lovell did not claim was true or false, but rather bizarre.
If your looking for a bibliography of other Romanov books to read on the subject, this book has it. It will also give you information that you never knew before.
Additionally Lovell is Anna Anderson's official biographer.
A Must read.
Terrible.......2006-08-14
I found this book to be totally biased. Even before DNA the case that Anna Anderson was Anastasia was extremely weak. In the Dalldorf Asylum Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden said that she was neither Tatiana nor Anastasia. This is a big clue. She never said she was Anastasia. The idea that she was a member of the Imperial Family was placed in her head by a fellow patient at Dalldorf, Clara Peuthert.
Anderson met her Aunt Princess Irene of Prussia under an assumed name. Neither recognized the other. Also Grand Duchess Olga did not recognize Anderson. Olga Alexandrovna would never be so callous as to reject her niece. Pierre Gilliard also said that she could not be Anastasia. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone once shared a bath with Anastasia and said that the claimant wasn't Anastasia.
Anderson disappeared on 12 August 1922 and reappeared on 15 August 1922. These were the same days on which Franziska Schanzkowska reappeared.
Anastasia knew four languages: Russian, English, French and German. Anna Anderson only knew one: German. She never could speak Russian.
The Author resorts to slander to criticize the claimant's opponents. Lovell claims that a prostitute identified Anna Anderson as Schanzkowska. Where is the proof? Who was the prostitute? No other books refer to a prostitute. Slanderous statements such as this do not belong in print.
The suggestion that Nicholas and Alexandra had a fifth daughter is beneath contempt. This claim destroys Lowell's credibility for good. This claim is an affront to the memory of the Russian Royal family. Not even the most naïve, desperate or gullible conspiracy theorist could fall for this.
The author seems to record everything uttered by Anna Anderson Manahan during her years of senility no matter how outlandish or farfetched.
Substantial sections of the book bear little relation to reality, for example the King Kong rape story. Whilst watching a showing of the King Kong, Manahan leaves the theatre and then confides in Lovell that the entire family except Alexei were raped in front of each other. The King Kong story is extemely disturbing and despicable, and shows how gullible the author is. It is obvious that Anna Anderson Manahan herself sees how devoted Lovell is towards her and is deliberately making up stories for him.
The author also misidentifies a photo that is really that of Anastasia's sister Marie's ear not Anastasia's ear.
Lovell mocks the claimant's opponents and believes every single word of Anna's. There was nothing regal at all about Anderson's mannerisms or behaviour. There is no balance in this book.
A really bad book.......2006-01-06
Although I believe Anna Anderson was the Grand Duchess Anastasia, I don't like this book. Most of this stuff is made up and it only seems to harm Anna's claim. Why did Mr. Lovell seriously go into research a sixth Romanov daughter, or did he at all? One is left to ponder if everything he writes about is a work or fiction I'm sorry to say. He should have been a mystery novel writer, not a history book writer.
What makes Kurth's book better is that while he maintains Anna's claims were just, they are unprovable. Lovell's book goes out of the way to state between every line that it's been proven Anna Anderson was Anastasia which has certainly never been true.
What a silly book!.......2005-12-28
This book is unbelievable in that it takes seriously the demented ravings of a very mentally ill woman (Anna Anderson) and her equally disturbed husband, John Manahan. The book is completely biased and one-sided in favor of Anderson's claim that she is Grand Duchess Anastasia. The author treats his subject with deference and reverence, even when she is acting like a madwoman, which is most of the time. In a restaurant, Anderson demands coffee: "I want coffee!". Her poor, long-suffering husband gently tells her she can't have coffee , if she does she will be up all night. "I want coffee"! she shrieks, like a spoiled child. The author Lovell, says to Manahan, if the Grand Duchess wants coffee, then coffee she will have. He is quite in thrall to the bizarre woman he believes is royalty He believes her claim that the Grand Duchesses, their mother Alexandra, and their father Nicolas, were gang-raped. He believes there was a secret FIFTH Romanov daughter. He believes that Anna Anderson is Anastasia, and that anyone who thinks she is not is involved in a vast conspiracy to retain political power and gain access to the Romanov millions which are secreted away in some bank, somewhere. Lovell reminds me of people who insist that Bigfoot exists, that Elvis is alive, that a sea-monster lives in Loch Ness. There is no proof of any of that. Just as that there is no actual PROOF that Anna Anderson was Anastasia. There never was. You had to take her story on faith. That's all her followers can really offer in the way of proving she was of royal birth; faith. Here's something else that is disturbing about this book, and the other Anastasia book by Peter Kurth (also a devout believer in Anderson); Anderson and Manahan are portrayed in both books as harmless eccentrics, when in fact they were both dangerously mentally-ill. They both were what is known today as "hoarders"; their home and property was a health hazard due to the immense piles of junk and garbage they had accumulated. Anderson was a hoarder of ANIMALS; she had dozens of cats, and when one died she would cremate it in the fireplace. These two needed to be committed to a mental institution, but due to Manahan's money they occasionally would be given a warning to clean up the property or else, and that would be the end of it. Their property would be cleaned up a bit, then go right back to where it was. Anderson and Manahan were quite simply, two unbearable, insufferable people who were both paranoid and irrational. Both this book and Peter Kurth's "Anastasia; The Riddle of Anna Anderson" attempt to throw a smoke screen over the reader's eyes as to the reality of what Anderson really was. But the evidence can't be refuted. Anderson could never PROVE she was Anastasis. But the DNA evidence PROVED that she wasn't. Case closed. End of "fairy tale".
Customer Reviews:
Another one for the nutjobs.......2007-10-01
The credibility of this book should have been destroyed by the DNA testing which disclosed Anna Anderson's true identity, but of course there are stil circles of people out there who will bend over backwards to invent any and every theory that works with their fantasy. If the science doesn't agree with them, then of course the science must be wrong. What else is new? That in the year 2007 people continue to tout this imposter as Anastasia is an insult to Anastasia's memory.
Looking back on Anna Anderson.......2007-08-21
"Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson" was written before the "official" discovery of the Romanov bones, therefore, Anna Anderson could not have undergone DNA testing, when this book was published in 1983. Without getting into the DNA testing, there is one question throughout the story of Anna Anderson that was either never asked by Kurth or never asked by Anna Anderson's opponents. According to Anderson's story, she ["Anastasia"] escaped Ekaterinburg with an Ipatiev House guard, Alexander Tschaikovsky. "Anastasia" and Tschaikovsky made their way to Bucharest, Romania--where "Anastasia" gave birth to a son, and the two were married in a Catholic church. Here's the problem. Anastasia Romanov was Orthodox. Why would she marry in a Catholic church? In Russia, this could be understandable; but in Romania, which is also predominately Orthodox? That is one question Kurth, or Anderson's opponents, never asked.
Compelling proof.......2006-10-03
Numerous other reviewers have already gone into massive detail about all of the evidence Mr. Kurth produces to establish that "Anna Anderson" was indeed Grand Duchess Anastasiya, so I'm not going to write yet another length missive repeating what so many other people have already reiterated. I had only been a Russophile for three years when I read this book, and absolutely loved it; the next year I was able to write a research paper on this very topic (though Mr. Kurth's book wasn't one of the resources I used for my research), proving that these two women were one and the same, with so much compelling proof that one must question what really happened when the DNA test was administered. My research turned up a story about a shady figure named Willy Korte who was hanging around the lab and who quite possibly saw sensitive information on the papers in a folder. Not only that, but when the researchers first went to get the DNA, it was lost, and they spent several hours searching for it. Seems pretty suspicious to me.
However, this book was written before the DNA test was done, so that issue is really neither here nor there and should be the topic of another book, or maybe even additional material in an updated reissue. If Mr. Kurth were really so "obsessed" with proving "Mrs. Anderson" were really Anastasiya, he would have been grasping at straws and painting circumstantial evidence as unquestionable proof. He does absolutely none of that here. There's enough proof here to convince even a hardened skeptic. If this woman really were such a fraud and had been nothing but some peasant bumpkin woman, why did the missing peasant woman's own relatives say they didn't recognise her and had never seen her before in their lives? Why did both Anastasiya and "Anna Anderson" have the foot disorder hallux valgus? Why did this mysterious woman have scars on her body corresponding exactly to the wounds inflicted by the regicidal murderers? Why did she recognise so many people from her family and close circle of friends (like Duchess Olga and Dr. Botkin's children) and know so many intimate details about their lives? Why did she have eyes that were the exact same deep shade of blue as the tsar's? Why did they have the same fingerprints? How was she able to know about a secret visit the tsarina's cousin Kaiser Wilhelm made to St. Petersburg during WWI, something which no one outside of the Royal Family would have even known about? How did she know so many details about a hospital for wounded soldiers she, her mother, and her sisters often helped out at? She even corrected some of the veterans who tried to mislead her and prove her identity false, such as one who falsely claimed that her little brother had been there as well when they visited. Why did both women have the same handwriting? And in a German court of law, the comparison pictures of her ears and Anastasiya's ears matched on far more than just the bare requisite amount of similarities to prove identity, as well as the similarity between their faces. As one of the experts said, "Such similarity between two human faces is not possible unless they are the same person or identical twins."
There was so much compelling undeniable proof that it seems utterly ridiculous to say, "Oh, I guess I was wrong" just because of the results of a highly suspect DNA test. It seems as though most people who dismiss "Anna Anderson" as a fraud have never even done any in-depth reading on this subject, don't know about all of this massive proof, have no idea about the monkey business that went on concerning the alleged DNA. Far from a delusional fraud or a peasant woman with amnesia, this woman was truly the real deal.
YOU decide who she was.......2006-09-16
This book, is wonderful let me start bvy saying that. It is endlessly compelling and fascinating and is exhaustively researched, as a reader can probably tell by the constant source refrences.
It tells the story of Anna Anderson, the young woman who jumped of a bridge and then, whilst in a German asylum, claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. Kurth's book exhaustively details the known sections of her life, recording the testimony of not only thoughs who supported Anna but also those who opposed her.
The only detractor from this book, is that Kurth refers to Anna Anderson as Anastasia throughout, which can get confusing (especially in the earlier sections.)
I have read one review here that says that Anna Anderson could only speak German. To me this is proof they have not read a word of the book. Anna Anderson spoke English and Russian 'like a lady of high soceity' both in her sleep and in secret to the nurses whilst she was in the asylum, and by 1928, after only a few lessons in English based on childish nursey rhymes, would speak nothing BUT English, the language she used for the rest of her life. And to those who say the REAL Anastasia couldn't speak German, workbooks in her own hand, that feature writing in German with LESS errors than in her writing in Russian totally disprove the widely spread myth that Anastasia couldn't speak German.
Overall this is an excellent book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a well balanced account of one woman's claim that gripped the world.
She wasn't Anastasia.......2006-08-14
This book is a comprehensive account of Anna anderson's life. It appears to be well researched and contains footnotes (a conspicuous absence in other Anna Anderson books). It is the ultimate reference work for Anna Anderson supporters. However,the author finds every reason to say that Anna Anderson was Anastasia without considering the evidence that she wasn't and much of the anti-Anna Anderson evidence is glossed over. I also object to Kurth refering to the claimant as Anastasia.
The case that Anna Anderson was Anastasia was extremely weak even before DNA. In the Dalldorf Asylum Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden said that she was neither Tatiana nor Anastasia. Anderson met her Aunt Princess Irene of Prussia under an assumed name. Neither recognized the other. Also Grand Duchess Olga did not recognize Anderson. Pierre Gilliard also said that she could not be Anastasia. Sydney Gibbes and Alexei Volkov also said that the claimant wasn't Anastasia.
Anderson disappeared on 12 August 1922 and reappeared on 15 August 1922. These were the same days on which Franziska Schanzkowska reappeared.
Anastasia knew four languages: Russian, English, French and German. At first Anna Anderson only knew one: German. She never could speak Russian. There is no way anyone would forget one's native tongue. Anna Anderson's English was terrible and she certaintly never spoke it like a lady of high society.
There is no record of an Alexander Tchaikovsky being shot and killed in Bucharest in a street fight between 1918 and 1920.
Members of the imperial family who denied the claimant (especially Ernie and Olga) are painted as greedy and selfish. Olga's opinions were ruthlessly twisted by Anna's supporters. She made a carefully condidered, well reasoned decision to reject the claimant. At no stage did Olga think that Anna Anderson was her niece.
Anna Anderson's behaviour never resembled that of a Grand Duchess. She never had the demeanour of a royal family member. Wearing expensive clothes, living at other people's expense, living in a Duke's castle, and
being rude and imperious does not make you a lady. The claimant in 1920 does not even look like Anastasia. Just look at Anna Anderson's first mug shot in 1920 and compare it with pictures of Grand Duchess Anastasia and tell me whether they are the same person.
"I thought she was Anastasia therefore the DNA tests must be wrong" is not an argument. "Nobody who thought she was Anastasia could believe the DNA results" is a circular and self-serving argument. "How could she know all those things if she was a Polish peasant?" is also not an argument.
The DNA says that Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska. There was nothing wrong with the DNA test. End of story.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Source for a research paper.......2007-02-04
Since I'm writing a research paper, this was such a useful source for me to use. I loved the pictures and the information. It had so much of it! I was amazed; blown away. This is an amazing book for both kids and adults and I hope you get something out of it too!
Great for all ages!.......2006-07-12
This is an excellent book about Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Russia's last tsar. As many know, Anastasia was murdered with her entire family in 1918. This book tells Anastasia's story through her own words. Her letters reflect a happy, secure young girl who came from a loving family. It shows readers a world that is gone and will never return. Though it was written for young children, all ages with enjoy "Anastasia's Album!"
Not your normal Biography! .......2006-04-05
The first time I found this book at the public library I just barely seen Fox's movie Anastasia for the first time. Surprised to find out that Anastasia was a real person, I checked out the book expecting it to be similar to most biographies.
Boy was I wrong. This book absolutely blew me away. Anastasia's album is a wonderful look into the life of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last tsar of Imperial Russia. Imagine my surprise to find out that Fox's movie was nothing like Anastasia's real life, although many of the costumes and sets came from real items. Full of pictures, this book also included bits from Anastasia's real diary. A remarkable biography about a remarkable girl.
Very sad, now that I think about it.......2006-03-21
I remember this book from when I was a kid, after the 'Anastasia' movie came out my friend had this book, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It's full of beautiful photos and pictures the Grand Duchess drew herself. It seems really heartbreaking now that all she got to leave was her scrapbook.
Anastasia's Album.......2005-10-30
I absolutely loved this book!! It has alot of Anastasia Romanov's personal photos and letters and is full of information. You may notice that most Romanov books are for adults and can be a little hard to understand, but this book is for kids and can be read by adults too. It talks about Anastasia's life from babyhood to her TRAGIC death along with her family. I loved it and I very much recommend you read it, too. This is the fascinating story of a Russian princess.
Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1884 edition by John Murray, London.
Customer Reviews:
Great Biography or I guess autiography.......2007-02-18
I love reading biographies its always interesting to read about another person's life but its even more fun to do when its basically written by themselves as this book was. Alice certainly had an interesting life and I've always liked reading about her charity and nursuing work. Someone who was born into wealth, power and connected as she was an yet prefered to spend her days helping the poor and sick is very admirable. I enjoyed reading her letters and learning more about her. Towards the end the letters get fewer and fewer of course as she's got an ailing family and her own death draws near. An excellent read.
Book Description
Set against the stunning backdrop of Renaissance France and peopled by the titans of European history, The Serpent and the Moon is a true story of love, war, intrigue, betrayal, and persecution. At its heart is one of the world's great love stories: the life-long devotion of King Henri II of France to Diane de Poitiers, a beautiful aristocrat who was nineteen years older than her lover.
Diane was present at Henri's birth. It was Diane who lovingly embraced six-year-old Henri when he was sent as a hostage to a Spanish prison in exchange for his father. On his release four years later, it was Diane who eased the adolescent Henri out of his bitterness. As Henri matured, he modeled his life on the chivalric code, wore Diane's famous colors of black and white, and vowed to protect the lady whose image had sustained him throughout his childhood imprisonment.
In the sixteenth century, scions of royal houses were political pawns to be exchanged in marriage by rulers of Europe seeking to meet their own ambitions. At age fourteen, Henri was married to fourteen-year-old Catherine de' Medici, an unattractive but extremely wealthy heiress who was to bring half of Italy to France as her dowry. When Catherine met Henri on their wedding day, she fell instantly in love, but Henri could see no one but the beautiful Diane de Poitiers. Henri became dauphin and then king, all the while becoming more devoted to Diane, granting her exalted titles, magnificent castles, and the crown jewels and increasing the jealous fury of his wife. Diane and Henri ruled France as one. While their love was sincere and discreet, many at court were not sure of their true relationship. Catherine, however, was in no doubt. She took as her secret motto the words "Hate and Wait" and lived for the day Diane would die and she could win Henri's love and rule by his side. Fate had another plan.
Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, herself a descendant of both Catherine and Diane, imbues this seldom-told story with an insider's grasp of royal life and exquisite details gleaned from extensive research in the libraries, palaces, and private collections in Europe. Set in a time of unprecedented cultural and religious revolution, constant war, and the building of France's most famous chateaux and the creation of its Renaissance art, The Serpent and the Moon is a fascinating love story as well as a richly woven history of an extraordinary time.
Customer Reviews:
Lackluster depiction of a menage a trois.......2007-04-22
Every now and then, I get to find out something new in history, and a story that had not made sense before falls into place. Such was the case when I read this biography about one of the most unusual ménage a trois in history.
This biography by the wife of the British Prince Michael of Kent focuses mostly on the passion between one couple of this three-way relationship. Set in 16th century France, it's a story that can be taken several different ways -- as a scandal, a story of a great love, a scheming older woman and a much younger man, or that of a spurned wife.
The story opens with a marriage, that of two fourteen year olds, Henri of France, the second son of King Francois I, and Catherine di Medici, the 'niece' of the Pope, and potential heiress of several wealthy Italian duchies. He was a sullen, quiet boy, still traumatized by several years imprisonment in Spain as a hostage for his father. Catherine, having been deprived of her parents in infancy, had been passed around an assortment of relatives and convents, unsure of where she would be from day to day. It was a magnificent wedding, and both young people performed their parts, including Henri consummating the marriage.
The surprise came after the wedding -- when Henri promptly returned to the company of his Lady. She was Diane de Portiers, a highly placed lady of his father's court. She was also eighteen years older than Henri, very beautiful, educated and possessed of a dignified courtesy. In short, she was everything that Catherine was not. She also had the confidence of both of Henri's parents, and ever since her husband's death, she had worn nothing but black and white, and young Henri had adopted those colours as his own, playing the part of a chivalrous young knight to his lady.
It was Catherine who suffered for ten years, enduring rejection by her husband and having to treat his mistress with grace and courtesy. But on the inside, it appeared that she was seething. She adopted a secret motto for herself --- "Hate and Wait" -- and had a peephole placed in the floor of her bedchamber so that she could spy on the amourous couplings of her husband and her lover. It must have been humiliating to know that Diane and Henri eventually gave into King Francois' demands that Henri get his wife with child, and Diane sending her husband upstairs to get his wife, suggesting that he make love to her like a greyhound, and then as soon as the deed was done, return to Diane's arms. Evidently the suggestion worked -- Catherine would have nine children by Henri. Despite this horrible behavior, Catherine would love her husband, still as besotted as when she was a new bride.
When Henri finally became King, Diane remained at his side, recieving properties and becoming his closest confidant and advisor. Henri in turn, championed her, placing their intertwined intials throughout the royal palaces, and having her continually at his side. Diane played her part, creating herself as the goddess of the hunt and the moon, and clearly delighting in the role of uncrowned queen of France. But there was one problem in the relationship -- she was much older than her lover, and what would happen when the years finally caught up with her?
The biggest problem that I had with this was that the author is more than smitten with her leading lady. Continually, she refers to how beautiful, how talented, how good, how noble, how beloved Diane de Poitiers was by everyone. This adulation leaves little room for faults, and the story is certainly one sided -- very little is mentioned if she had any enemies, or if she did anything at all that was wrong. After a while, it does get a bit nauseating to read about. No one likes a perfect person.
Unfortunately, the luckless Catherine de Medici is reduced to the stereotypes of a jealous, bitter wife in this. Little is mentioned of her life after Henri II's death, her elegance and polish, and her love of art and fine living. Instead, Princess Michael doesn't miss an opportunity to refer to Catherine as a dumpy, fat, wife, and how ugly and unattractive she is. Very little is mentioned about Catherine's talents in the arts, or that she was extremely graceful with a sharp wit.
And then, what about the third person in this marriage? Henri II comes across as one of those men who is certainly attractive and charming, but also extremely selfish. His callous treatment of Catherine is certainly dispicable, ignoring her while he went chasing after a woman who was old enough to be his mother.
As far as historical writing goes, this is a very average book. Princess Michael's style is pendantic and repetitious, going over the same track again and again. By the end of the book, I was bored, and very glad to see it end. While there are black and white illustrations throughout the text, and an insert of colour photos, along with the usual notes and bibliography, there's not much that can really save this work.
Instead, I would suggest Leonie Frieda's excellent biography of Catherine di Medici which is much more even handed and sympathetic to read.
Over all, despite some good information and insights, this one gets an average, three star rating for the banality and dullness in this work. Somewhat recommended.
Biased, superfitial, hardly a true Historic account........2006-11-26
This book is a waste of time and a major disapointment . After the recently discovered documents of the period by accredited Historians like Ivan Cloulas you'd expect Kent would deliver a renovated and accurate account of this strange "love" triangle.Nevertheless, Kent gives a biased vision of the story, proving her mediocrity as a Historian.
First of all, I don't understand why the author gets out of her way to prove she is related (very distantly and indirectly if I may add) to Diane and Catherine.How is that relevant to the book? Does that make her a good writer? evidently not.From the beginning she seems to be fascinated by Diane.She even decorates her aparment with black and white colors (the colors of the concubine).The fact that her mother told her about Diane and other "ancestors" instead of using the traditional fairytales is preposterous and out of place.
Long story short, Kent's portrayal of the so called love story is as black and white as her london apartment:Henri II was devoted to Diane because she was a gorgeous woman, inside and out, and Catherine and a fat ugly bitter Italian social climber. First,most sources describe Catherine as a slender princess, pretty much an athlete and a gracious dancer.She was loved by the Valois family upon her arrival in France.It was her close relationship with king Francis I that antagonized her with the future Henri II.It was no secret that Henri hated his father.
Furthermore, Diane's "love" for Henri was a very convenient one: she took countless benefits from him, such as jewels, land and titles.In order words, Diane was a real social climber, very interested in money and improving her political influence.
Finally, Henri was NOT entirely devoted to Diane.He took many other lovers during his life notbaly Filipa Ducci and Lady Fleming.
Catherine belonged to one of the most aristocratic French families on her mother's side; she had land and many titles in France.She didn't need to prove anything to anyone.Diane had a great influence on Henri, but I would hardly call theirs one of the greatest love stories like Kent intends to call it.Diane de Poitiers was no different than other royal mistresses such as Agnes Sorel, Anne d'Etampes, Pompadour and Du Barry, whose "love" for their king was very much conditioned by their love of money and power.
Kent doesn't seem willing to explore such considerations, and that's precisely what makes her book a falsification of History.
A Splendid Review Of An Historial Love Triangle.......2006-10-31
After reading the novel "Courtesean" by Diane Haeger, I was thrilled to discover The Serpent And The Moon. Princess Michael of Kent did an extraordinary job of researching and writing her book, and presented her facts in a nice and easy-to-read manner. Although most feel that she was biased against Catherine de Medici, I found this, in my opinion, to be the opposite. I think Princess Michael was able to present the facts, and she pointed out many attributes of Catherine, such as her ability to become a "quick study" when circumstances called for it. She was noted as being highly fashionable, cultured, and a woman of brains, overall. The proof that she was able to run a country for many years shows Catherine's skills and brilliance. Princess Michael pointed out that Catherine knew balance and how to maintain this when needed, as well as how to be resourcesful. For such a time as Renaissance France, Catherine was no more evil or viscious than anyone else at that time. The author also indicates that she did not exonerate or uphold Diane de Poitiers' behavior or choices in her relationship with King Henri, but wished to present the facts, which she nicely did. I loved this book, and after reading "Courtesan", found that it wrapped up this time in history with an informative overview of how events occurred and the people that influenced them. A "Well Done!!" to Princess Michael.
Even my teacher thought this summer reading was boring........2006-09-11
This book was very boring.
As is obvious from the very start, Princess Michael does nothing but glorify Diane and denounce Catherine on everything from intellect to fashion sense to appearance. It is tremendously biased and one pities Catherine for putting up with her husband's love affair and then, in a book about her own life, being reduced to three words: "Hate and Wait." Henri doesn't even play a large role: he is reduced to the smitten prince of a goddess, his own personality succumbing to the exemplified virtues of his mistress.
HRH has obviously done her research and knows an immense amount of detail on the time period, but that doesn't mean all of it (or any of it) is relevant. Fashion, architecture, and religion are interesting details, but the author wastes whole chapters discussing Henri's grandparents and his father's favorite chateaus. More annoying than the intense prejudice against Catherine is the excruciating detail and redundancy of the beginning and middle chapters. The result is a supernaturally boring account of noble life in the 1500s, not specifically the lives of Henri, Catherine, and Diane. There are so many other minor characters that the reader must constantly flip back to the family tree to get all the players straight--and if you're not familiar with French, forget about it. I think this is Princess Michael's first book, so she hasn't learned how to be concise yet.
Overall, the book is really not worth buying. If you borrow it from the library, read the jacket, the first chapter, and the last chapter and you will get the best part of a supernaturally tedious read.
History at its most entertaining.......2006-07-17
This is one of the few books in English about the intriguing life of Diane de Poiters, mistress of Henri II. Princess Michael handles her material very deftly, giving the reader background of the childhoods of Henri II including his 4-year imprisonment in Spain, Catherine de' Medici his future wife and Diane de Poitiers. The stage is thus set for Henri's strong attraction to Diane and his almost complete lack of interest in Catherine, who, tragically, fell hopelessly in love with Henri at 14 when they were wed. The rivalry between the two women was intense and Princess Michael's treatment of it makes for a page-turning read. A real plus are pages of beautiful color photos of the main figures and places, as well as many black and white pictures of other key persons interspersed throughout. This is an exceedingly well-researched, and as importantly, well-written and engaging book. It rivals popular historical novels for pure entertainment value.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding Factual Book.......2006-08-14
This outstanding book focuses on the discovery and identification of the Romanov bones and the subsequent DNA testing. The book's strength lies in describing how the bones were found and not in the subjective non-scientific arguments as to whether Anna Anderson was Anastasia or Franziska Schanzkowska. This book is not clouded by the personal opinions of the authors. You won't find any self-serving statements or arguments in this book.
A boring rehashed version of Massie.......2006-01-06
The title says it all. I'm sorry Mr. Klier, but this book is EXACTLY like "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" by Robert K. Massie. It may just be coincidence since they were published in the same year, but honestly, there isn't anything new in this book that cannot be found in Massie's or in Peter Kurth's "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson". And now there is a rehashed version of "The Quest For Anastasia" called "A Romanov Fantasy: Life At the Court Of Anna Anderson" by Frances Welch. When does it end? One book copies one, and then another copies that one. Soon our history books will be nothing but rumors!!
Russians continue to lie about disposition of Romanovs.......2005-06-02
This is yet another pathetic book on the "fate" of the Romanovs. The Russians do not divulge anything new, DNA test can be "altered" to reflect what the examiners "wish" to discover. In a word this book is a "fantasy" and only that!
Unless ALL of the documentation collected by Anastasia's uncle, Andrew, uncle Ernst Louis of Hesse, the Russian secret police files, the files of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the files of the German High Command both before and after WWII are opened and made public (which will most likely NOT occur), then the ghouls will continue to make scads of money with these shoddy books.
There is not a scrap of actual "truth" in this ridiculous book. The British royal family, the Bank of England, and Baring Brothers' banking firm ALL benefited greatly being able to "absorb" the millions....in gold...deposited in the Bank of England by the Tsar. All and all, each of the individuals involved in this "book" should be so ashamed as to print such rubbish. RUN, do not WALK to the nearest dumpster with any copy of this absurd facsimile of a book.
But how did she escape the bullets??.......2003-10-30
This book is yet another version of the fascinating story of the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The book is strongest in its presentation of the endless squabbling among those with an interest in what happened to the Romanovs. That Nicholas and his family were taken to a basement room at Ipatiev House in Ekaterinberg, Siberia and shot seems to be well-documented. But exactly who did the shooting and why? The authors give us a cast of characters. The more interesting part -- and what is in dispute -- is this: Did everyone die in that basement? What happened after the shooting, when the soldiers hauled away the bodies? The authors try to retrace the events, but provide no story about any person in the basement group surviving, or how anyone could have survived.
And that brings us to the title of the book. Did Anastasia somehow survive the rain of bullets and thrusts of bayonets in that basement and reappear some years later in a mental hospital in Berlin? Was the woman known as Anna Anderson really Anastasia? As the authors point out -- but only after you've read to the end of the book -- DNA evidence says she was NOT Anastasia. If she was not Anastasia, how did she manage to convince many credible people, including people who knew Anastasia, that she was? The points of similarity were many, both physically and in her knowledge of the Russian court. Many of the people who believed she was the daughter of the tsar have not accepted the DNA evidence. Those who do accept it say she was really a Polish peasant who disappeared at the same time that "Anna" appeared.
Many people had vested interests in the story of Anna. Surviving members of the Romanov extended family supposedly wanted to make sure that Anna did not inherit any of the tsar's reported fortune (although no fortune was ever found), so it was because of their greed that they would not accept Anna as Anastasia. In some cases, investigators got sucked into the story (either looking for fame, fortune or simply charmed by Anna) and spent years of their lives trying to establish Anna's identity.
Those who persist in believing that Anna was Anastasia say a peasant girl could not have had such a "regal bearing" or knew as much about the Romanovs as Anna did. However, I see no reason why a Polish peasant girl who spent years in a hospital with nothing to do but read books and study couldn't have learned about the Russian court and couldn't have practiced acting like a Russian Grand Duchess. From the evidence, it appears that Anna came to believe she WAS the tsar's daughter. But if so, how did she claim to have escaped the bullets? Yes, she could have claimed amnesia about the event, but her identity as Anastasia is not believable without some accounting of her escape and the authors give us none. Perhaps because for them the DNA evidence was conclusive. Anna is NOT Anastasia.
The book is an entertaining read, and I enjoyed it, but it does not live up to its subtitle: "Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs." As long as some people will not let go of their vision of Anastasia, who still believe that Anna was the tsar's daughter, then the story goes on. There are also at least two "pretenders" who have said they are Alexei -- both are dead now, but their families press their claim. Since two bodies were never found -- those of Alexei and of one of the daughters -- it seems likely that this is one story that will never go away, a mystery that can never truly be solved.
Ehhh........2002-07-24
Interesting, but nothing I haven't seen before. People (which I think mostly are ...) who believe in the story of Anna Anderson being the Grand Duchess wouldn't like this book. I'm quite sure about these DNA tests, but then again, one would be better off buying The Final Chapter by Massie which explains everything and I mean everything (except for a few things scientists forgot, like Tatiana being the missing daughter). As for knowing of the visit in 1916? Letters to his wife and from are all about being at the front. Ernst was not in Russia, although it is common knowledge Nicholas wanted to settle the war at the Hague.
Book Description
This is a fascinating portrait of the Princess and how she played a colorful role from her birth in 1876.
Customer Reviews:
2nd best.......2006-10-19
This was a book that needed to be written, and it needed more flesh to make it seem less skinny. I say that, because Princess (later Grand Duchess) Victoria Melita was far from a skinny person in terms of her character. She was strong and stubborn, the perfect (or diasterous) mix of both her parents, only without the looks of her elder sister, the Queen Marie of Roumania. What sets Princess Victoria Melita apart from her female cousins is, she has the strength of will equal to her ruling remale cousins (Queen Marie of Roumania, Empress Alexandra of Russia, Queen Ena of Spain, Queen Sophie of Greece, & too a lesser extent, Queen Maud of Norway) but she herself was never to rule. Her 1st husband she had the nerve & courage to divorce, she faced family censure and anger, then remarried and face the fury of her mighty cousins, Tsar Nicholas & Empress Alexandra (who were previously also her in-laws!!) by marrying her cousin against the wishes of the Tsar. She is 2nd best because her life was so colorful and dramatic, and yet, she never became a Queen/Empress herself. Needed more flesh, but otherwise, a good book to build up your library...like anyother Van der Kiste book.
An Exploration of a Princess's Unhappy Life........2006-07-20
n 1894, in a little duchy in Germany, there was a wedding between two cousins. Anyone who was anyone in European royalty descended on the small, charming city of Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The groom was handsome and young, of artistic sensibilities, and a grandchild of the Queen-Empress, Victoria of England. The bride was also a grandchild of the Queen, beautiful and a bit stern, without the merriment of her older sister Marie. Overjoyed at arranging the marriage of two of her grandchildren, the Queen had great promise for this union.
John van der Kiste's biography, Princess Victoria Melita, tells the story of the bride at the wedding. He starts with the story of her parents, the second son of the Queen, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and her mother, the only daughter of Tsar Alexander II, Marie Alexandrovna. The marriage was certainly an odd one, and Marie did not settle in well with her English in laws. Queen Victoria did not apprieciate the fact that Marie had a better jewelry collection than she did, that Marie remained a Russian Orthodox in religious matters, and that Marie regarded being born a Grand Duchess of Russia far better than she did marrying into the English royal family. Alfred, for his part, was rumored to have married Marie for her enormous dowry, and the fact that he was getting a bit older to continue being a single man -- still, despite the obstacles, they did manage to produce four daughters and a son to continue the family line.
The daughters were all considered to be attractive, and the eldest, Marie -- or 'Missy' -- was the most beautiful, and would eventually become the Queen of Romania. In constrast to Missy's blonde and blue eyed prettiness, the second daughter, Victoria Melita -- who was refered to as 'Ducky' in the family for her long neck -- was dark, serious and more solemn than her sister. When it was proposed that she marry the young Grand Duke of Hesse, Ducky put up hardly a murmur of protest, after all, her grandmother and mother were in favor of the match and she would have to marry someone someday.
Ernst of Hesse, was attractive, and Ducky would become a reigning duchess in the sprawling German Empire. His sisters had all married brilliantly, except for Alix, who acted as his hostess. He was interested in poetry and the arts, and if there were a few whispers about his rather ambiguous sexuality, no one really said anything -- after all, marriage would settle him down and he and his bride would soon start producing a crop of little princes and princesses.
The wedding was attended by most of Europe's monarchs, in the bride's home of Coburg in Germany, but in fact was overshadowed by another couple -- the proposal of the Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia to the groom's youngest sister, Alix. Nothing is recorded of Ducky's reaction to being more or less ignored at her own wedding, but it would provide a premonition of what the future would hold.
The marriage failed, spectacularly. They only had a daughter, Elizabeth, who would die in childhood of typhoid, and Ducky vented her frustrations in travel and horseback riding. In 1896, she went to Russia for the coronation of her in-laws, Nicholas and Alix, and met a Romanov cousin for the first time. He was Cyril Vladimirovich, young and handsome, and certainly interested in Ducky. The marriage between Ducky and Ernst grew ever more strained, and they would divorce in 1901; Elizabeth would live the rest of her brief life in an ever shifting round between her Romanov relations and her parents. With her loss, Ducky's last tie to Hesse was broken and in a daring move, turned around and married her cousin Cyril.
Both sides of the family were shocked and horrified. Tsar Nicholas banished his cousin and his wife from Russia, stripped Cyril of his income and title of Grand Duke, and his wife, Empress Alexandra, was furious that Ducky would spurn her beloved brother Ernie. Despite these obstacles, the marriage started off as a very happy one. There would be two daughters born soon afterwards, Marie and Kira, and eventually, Cyril would have his title and wealth restored. Known as the Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, Ducky entered St. Petersburg society, and gloried in the splendour and social life of pre-war Russia. When the Revolution struck, Cyril and Ducky fled with their children to Finland, and later to France.
Cyril in exile declared himself Emperor of Russia, a title that no one really took seriously, and Ducky battled ill-health and strained finances. It was a terrible blow for her pride and ego, and later photographs show a gaunt, haggard woman. While she had a beloved son who was born in 1917, Ducky prefered a quiet life, and a last betrayal by a husband for whom she had sacrificed everything was the final torment for her.
Van der Kiste does a sympathetic and interesting biography of a princess who dared enough to break the rules of Victorian propriety. While the writing style does get rather heavy at times, he's wise enough to use contemporary letters and accounts to show how a divorce was regarded, and what was expected of those living in a spotlight. Along with sources, notes and a bibliography, genealogical charts and an insert of black and white photographs give a well-rounded survey of two minor royals.
Recommended.
Enjoyable, informative biography.......2004-10-07
Queen Victoria had some very interesting relatives! This is the biography of one of her granddaughters, the second daughter of Victoria's son, Alfred Duke of Edinburgh-Coburg, and sister to Queen Marie of Roumania. It's very well written, and what a life she had. Very tragic life, really; Victoria Melita married twice (both marriages ended badly, tho' she stayed married to her second husband until her death), she lost her little daughter by the Grand Duke of Hesse (another grandson of Victoria's) and the Russian Revolution swept away everything else...I enjoyed this biography very much. I thought Van der Kiste's writing was stronger here, than in "Once a Grand Duchess".
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