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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I listened to this book and really enjoyed it. I don't typically go for war books or flat out historical accounts. This book, however, tells the story of the family life of the last czar of Russia. Given the title, I expected this book to be about the sisters. It goes much farther into the personal lives of the whole family. Rappaport uses many diaries and letters of friends and the family members to put the account together. I was touched by the respectful way the members of the family were portrayed. Really glad I heard this story.
Absolutely fascinating. I was invested in the sisters stories from page one.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
It gave wrong information. Helen rappaport has written plenty of books on the romanovs and is probably considered an expert, but when reading, it gave wrongful information, saying that Olga, the first daughter, was born on November 3rd 1895, though, her birthday was actually November 15th, I have read atleast 6 books on these girls, and plenty of websites, which support my reasoning.
excellent-detailed account-By the end of the book, there is a pastel hope that they will be saved...a simple, hopeless family with moral character and not the first sense of the 20th century.
Very well-researched, and written in a style that is easy to read and follow, not to mention an engaging one.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
The first half of the book is not about the sisters at all, it is mostly about their mother, which was interesting and set the stage but made me think this could be titled something about the matriarchs of the last of the romanovs.
It is a mostly positive and surface account of the tsar and his family stemming from a comprehensive survey of existing correspondence between them and friends. It is interesting to read this while also reading about the soviet revolution and comparing the two — for instance, the death of Stolypin is covered from a very generous and mournful angle, never mentioning his infamous "necktie".
The suffering and uprising of the people is barely mentioned, but the daily (monotonous) life—puppy love, board games, "papa" reading to them, sailing on their yacht yearly, continue undisturbed. There isn't any indication that the daughters or the tsarevich had any idea what was happening in the rest world, let alone their own empire.
Also, how many times could she mention that Maria was fat?
It is a mostly positive and surface account of the tsar and his family stemming from a comprehensive survey of existing correspondence between them and friends. It is interesting to read this while also reading about the soviet revolution and comparing the two — for instance, the death of Stolypin is covered from a very generous and mournful angle, never mentioning his infamous "necktie".
The suffering and uprising of the people is barely mentioned, but the daily (monotonous) life—puppy love, board games, "papa" reading to them, sailing on their yacht yearly, continue undisturbed. There isn't any indication that the daughters or the tsarevich had any idea what was happening in the rest world, let alone their own empire.
Also, how many times could she mention that Maria was fat?
*Review of the eARC from NetGalley*
I'm not sure exactly why I decided to request this particular title from NetGalley, but I'm glad I did. It's quite a fascinating look at the family of the last Russian monarch - not so much the political side of the story, but more a look at the Romanovs as people. The book is called "The Romanov Sisters," but it's actually about the whole family. I would have liked more information about the girls themselves - but maybe it's just not available (I have to keep reminding myself that the Soviet Union only fell within my lifetime and they weren't that big on archiving documents pertaining to Russian history before communism). I still don't feel like I have enough information to know if Nicholas II was a good tsar or not, but after reading this book, I really feel bad for his daughters, but I did enjoy reading about their lives - made me see them as not political puppets, but real people living in a beautiful culture (I have to say - Russian culture is amazing. Their politics? Eh... not so much).
Anyway - great book, richly detailed and thoroughly researched. Worth your time if you don't know much about the fall of the Romanovs and would like to know more.
I'm not sure exactly why I decided to request this particular title from NetGalley, but I'm glad I did. It's quite a fascinating look at the family of the last Russian monarch - not so much the political side of the story, but more a look at the Romanovs as people. The book is called "The Romanov Sisters," but it's actually about the whole family. I would have liked more information about the girls themselves - but maybe it's just not available (I have to keep reminding myself that the Soviet Union only fell within my lifetime and they weren't that big on archiving documents pertaining to Russian history before communism). I still don't feel like I have enough information to know if Nicholas II was a good tsar or not, but after reading this book, I really feel bad for his daughters, but I did enjoy reading about their lives - made me see them as not political puppets, but real people living in a beautiful culture (I have to say - Russian culture is amazing. Their politics? Eh... not so much).
Anyway - great book, richly detailed and thoroughly researched. Worth your time if you don't know much about the fall of the Romanovs and would like to know more.