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

Maria Romanov was canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church for her service as a nurse tending wounded soldiers during World War I. Her diary reveals she felt she was the 'black sheep' of the family despite being known as the most beautiful of the four sisters. Her letters and diaries include intimate details about Rasputin and the royal family as well as the family's concern over the war with Germany and the subsequent rise of the Bolsheviks. She was eighteen-years-old when she was murdered by the Bolsheviks.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was the third daughter and middle child of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and 1913 was the tercentennial year of her family's dynastic rule-the last full year before the outbreak of World War I. In her journal, Maria documents the ceremony and celebrations of this important date in Imperial Russian history, while at the same time showing herself to have been a remarkably ordinary young girl who happened to be the daughter of the most powerful man in the world. Maria's journal records the daily routines of the Imperial family, from the mundane to the magnificent, allowing the reader a peek into the lost and distant world of the last Romanovs.

They were the two youngest daughters of the world's most powerful man - Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia. Known to their family and friends as "The Little Pair", Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia were born into opulence, but led modest lifestyles. They were two normal young women growing up in extraordinary circumstances, ultimately getting caught in the middle of frightening political events that would take their teenage lives. Until this volume, the two girls did not have a chance to tell the story of the last four years of their lives during the first world war and the revolution, - in their very own words.

A 12-WEEK NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Helen Rappaport paints a compelling portrait of the doomed grand duchesses." —People magazine "The public spoke of the sisters in a gentile, superficial manner, but Rappaport captures sections of letters and diary entries to showcase the sisters' thoughtfulness and intelligence." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Days of the Romanovs and Caught in the Revolution, The Romanov Sisters reveals the untold stories of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra. They were the Princess Dianas of their day—perhaps the most photographed and talked about young royals of the early twentieth century. The four captivating Russian Grand Duchesses—Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Romanov—were much admired for their happy dispositions, their looks, the clothes they wore and their privileged lifestyle. Over the years, the story of the four Romanov sisters and their tragic end in a basement at Ekaterinburg in 1918 has clouded our view of them, leading to a mass of sentimental and idealized hagiography. With this treasure trove of diaries and letters from the grand duchesses to their friends and family, we learn that they were intelligent, sensitive and perceptive witnesses to the dark turmoil within their immediate family and the ominous approach of the Russian Revolution, the nightmare that would sweep their world away, and them along with it. The Romanov Sisters sets out to capture the joy as well as the insecurities and poignancy of those young lives against the backdrop of the dying days of late Imperial Russia, World War I and the Russian Revolution. Helen Rappaport aims to present a new and challenging take on the story, drawing extensively on previously unseen or unpublished letters, diaries and archival sources, as well as private collections. It is a book that will surprise people, even aficionados.

"Describes the life and death of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov of Russia"--Provided by publisher.

In a sense, the First World War was the battle of cousins. The financiers of the war decided to erase the last traces of the Russian Empire from history. They had already identified the most suitable employer to achieve their goals. Kaiser Wilhelm the second.They knew the Kaiser's weakness for Tsarina Aleksandra Fyodorovna, who was the wife of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas the second.It didn't take long for the Kaiser to find the right shooter for the job. He was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who was later known as Lenin.Lenin's brother Aleksandr Ulyanov was executed for attempting to assassinate Tsar Alexander III.According to the agreements of the Kaiser and Lenin, the Tsar would be killed. The Tsar's family would be sent to the Kaiser. But Lenin did not obey the agreement, thinking that the Kaiser would betray him.The execution, which took place on July 17, 1918, at 01:00, was concluded as neither the Kaiser nor Lenin had planned.Maria and her brother Alexei were able to survive with the help of the young Prince, whom Maria had met at a prom in Romania.This book is about the lives of Maria and Alexei after July 17, 1918.