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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
5.0
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I’ll admit that I haven’t done tons of reading of Russian history, but what I’ve read has fascinated me. It all started with the book Nicholas & Alexandra, which I got from a thrift store when I was a teenager. There was a time when I read anything to do with the Romanov family and their demise. Then I discovered Catherine the Great and read about her quite a bit. Now I’m trying to fill in the holes before and after those reigns. The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna tells the story of the mother of the last czar of Russia.
One of the reasons I got this audiobook, besides the subject content, was the narrator, Katharine Lee McEwan. I love her voice and all it’s inflections and ability to make her voice sound like a myriad of voices. Once again, she does a top-notch job and the story flew by with her deft narration.
Even though I knew the outcome of The Romanov Empress, I still found the book compelling. I learned a lot about Maria Feodorovna, the wife to one czar and mother to another, the last czar of Russia, Nicholas II. Gortner is able to show how Minnie, the Danish woman, developed a great understanding of the Russian people. She became shrewd about Russian politics, but still enjoyed Russian society, fashion, and interior decorating. The author also did a masterful job of capturing how I imagine St. Petersburg society operated during the time leading up to the Russian Revolution.
Core to the book’s heart is Minnie’s relationship with her daughter-in-law, Alexandra, in how Alexandra’s reclusiveness made her seem snobbish, to the way she kept the children away from others, to her reliance on the mystic Rasputin. It was the relationship with the “mad monk” that tarnished her to St. Petersburg society and no amount of counsel from Minnie makes Alexandra move from her position.
Minnie’s relationship with Nicky, Czar Nicholas II, isn’t much better. But once a man is grown and has a wife of his own, he’s not one to take his mother’s advice. Which is maddening because Nicholas keeps making one bad decision after another regarding the ruling of Mother Russia. Soon it is too late to turn back. Minnie knows it well before Nicholas realizes it. It’s hard to watch your children make mistakes with their lives and the lives of others, yet that’s exactly what Minnie has to do.
We all know how the book ends, After listening to the author’s afterward, I felt he mostly stuck with the facts known, pointed out where he took certain liberties, and then gave an account of what happened to the characters when the book ended. You don’t have to be a fan of Russian History to appreciate this well-written historical book.
I’ll admit that I haven’t done tons of reading of Russian history, but what I’ve read has fascinated me. It all started with the book Nicholas & Alexandra, which I got from a thrift store when I was a teenager. There was a time when I read anything to do with the Romanov family and their demise. Then I discovered Catherine the Great and read about her quite a bit. Now I’m trying to fill in the holes before and after those reigns. The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna tells the story of the mother of the last czar of Russia.
One of the reasons I got this audiobook, besides the subject content, was the narrator, Katharine Lee McEwan. I love her voice and all it’s inflections and ability to make her voice sound like a myriad of voices. Once again, she does a top-notch job and the story flew by with her deft narration.
Even though I knew the outcome of The Romanov Empress, I still found the book compelling. I learned a lot about Maria Feodorovna, the wife to one czar and mother to another, the last czar of Russia, Nicholas II. Gortner is able to show how Minnie, the Danish woman, developed a great understanding of the Russian people. She became shrewd about Russian politics, but still enjoyed Russian society, fashion, and interior decorating. The author also did a masterful job of capturing how I imagine St. Petersburg society operated during the time leading up to the Russian Revolution.
Core to the book’s heart is Minnie’s relationship with her daughter-in-law, Alexandra, in how Alexandra’s reclusiveness made her seem snobbish, to the way she kept the children away from others, to her reliance on the mystic Rasputin. It was the relationship with the “mad monk” that tarnished her to St. Petersburg society and no amount of counsel from Minnie makes Alexandra move from her position.
Minnie’s relationship with Nicky, Czar Nicholas II, isn’t much better. But once a man is grown and has a wife of his own, he’s not one to take his mother’s advice. Which is maddening because Nicholas keeps making one bad decision after another regarding the ruling of Mother Russia. Soon it is too late to turn back. Minnie knows it well before Nicholas realizes it. It’s hard to watch your children make mistakes with their lives and the lives of others, yet that’s exactly what Minnie has to do.
We all know how the book ends, After listening to the author’s afterward, I felt he mostly stuck with the facts known, pointed out where he took certain liberties, and then gave an account of what happened to the characters when the book ended. You don’t have to be a fan of Russian History to appreciate this well-written historical book.
jbeen21's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
reka111's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
sarahbowling6608's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I was so disappointed with this book. I'm not sure how it ended up on my TBR, but it was one I was most looking forward to this year. Sadly, what could have been an excellent story full of heartrending moments (I cried several times) and an interestingly told history of the fall of Imperial Russia was ruined by the copious sexual misadventures of the Imperial family. Never explicit, but attempting to get as close as possible, I feel it tremendously detracted from the story. Therefore, I cannot recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Death
homosexualityschray32's review against another edition
3.0
This is good historical fiction but the beginning was better than the end. I have a small obsession with the Romanov family and enjoyed this but the end became more facts and less story.
katreadingbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Full of facts on the Romanov dynasty and its downfall. However, the book moved so slow that I struggled through it. It flows more like a diary being read than a novel.
scorpiemm's review against another edition
4.0
not terrible not awful, just a fictional biography but +1 for keeping me entertained the entire time
themis_biblos's review against another edition
4.0
My third and, I think, favourite of Gortner's novels so far. The way he brings his heroine's histories to life is incredible.
pachypedia's review against another edition
5.0
Me ha gustado mucho este libro por dos razones: primero, porque a pesar de ser una novela histórica que narra desde casi el nacimiento hasta la muerte de la emperatriz, lo hace de una manera muy ágil, sin que se haga pesado en ningún momento. Y, segundo, porque da lo que promete, una novela centrada en la persona de la emperatriz, su personalidad, vida personal y su papel diplomático, sin dejarse llevar por el peso de otros personajes históricos que la rodean.
ievastrazdina's review against another edition
4.0
Dānijas princese Minnija sapņo apprecēties aiz mīlestības, kas gandrīz izdodas, tomēr izredzētais Krievijas cara dēls Nikolajs iet bojā un viņa brālis – Aleksandrs III Romanovs brālim apsola apprecēt Minniju. Ne tā kā Minnija to bija iztēlojusies, tomēr viņa ieprecas cariskajā ģimenē un viņai ir lemts kļūt par pēdējā cara Nikolaja II Romanova māti - Mariju Fjodorovnu.
Lai gan Krievijā valda cars, šis stāsts jau atkal ir par sievietes ietekmi, spēju skatīties uz lietām kopumā un iegrozīt vīra tēva, vīra vai dēla domas pareizā gultnē. Nereti ar, bet tikpat bieži – bez panākumiem.
Autors stāsta par sadzīvi cariskajā Krievijā, par cara ģimenes likstām un prieka brīžiem, par galma intrigām, izvirtībām (kas jāatzīst nobāl uz Katrīnas I laiku par ko uzzinājām grāmatā “Pētera imperatore”, tomēr tāpat bija ko pabrīnīties) un starpvalstu diplomātiskajām attiecībām. Par Krievijas impērijas sabrukšanu un nu bijušās imperatores centieniem līdz pat pēdējam brīdim saturēt kopā ģimeni un saglabāt pašcieņu, lai gan uz beigām šie pūliņi līdzinājās ūdens nešanai divās saujās, kur tas nepielūdzams aizplūst.
Šo grāmatu lasīju ar lielu interesei, jo kaut kā tā sanācis, ka atmiņā spilgti nosēdies cariskās Krievijas “zelta laiks”, bet par tā norietu lasīts bija maz. Vecos cara laikus un jaunos boļševiku laikus nosacīti nošķir 1905.gada revolūcija, tomēr, kādi notikumi risinājās laikā, kad boļševiki līdzās pastāvēja ar caru, kā bija iespējams, ka cariskā Krievija padodas boļševiku prasībām, kas notika ar ietekmīgo Romānovu dzimtu un kāda loma tur bija apdziedātajam Rasputinam – to visu uzzināju no šī stāsta.
Caur lappusēm ļoti varēja just, ka autors nopietni pētījis laiku par kuru raksta līdz pat detaļām, lai vidi atainotu iespējami ticamāku. Negaidiet no šīs grāmatas brutālo un nežēlīgo Sabuļaskaites “Pētera imperatori”, jo šis ir cits laiks un šis ir arī cits autora rokraksts, tomēr iesaku šo izlasīt – labs, izglītojošs vēsturisks romāns.
Interesanti, ka šajā stāstā nejūtu līdzi nevienam varonim – bija interesanti, bet kaut kādu iemeslu dēļ nespēju izjust īpašu empātiju pret cariskās ģimenes ciešanām un just līdzi viņu nestundās.
4,2⭐️
Lai gan Krievijā valda cars, šis stāsts jau atkal ir par sievietes ietekmi, spēju skatīties uz lietām kopumā un iegrozīt vīra tēva, vīra vai dēla domas pareizā gultnē. Nereti ar, bet tikpat bieži – bez panākumiem.
Autors stāsta par sadzīvi cariskajā Krievijā, par cara ģimenes likstām un prieka brīžiem, par galma intrigām, izvirtībām (kas jāatzīst nobāl uz Katrīnas I laiku par ko uzzinājām grāmatā “Pētera imperatore”, tomēr tāpat bija ko pabrīnīties) un starpvalstu diplomātiskajām attiecībām. Par Krievijas impērijas sabrukšanu un nu bijušās imperatores centieniem līdz pat pēdējam brīdim saturēt kopā ģimeni un saglabāt pašcieņu, lai gan uz beigām šie pūliņi līdzinājās ūdens nešanai divās saujās, kur tas nepielūdzams aizplūst.
Šo grāmatu lasīju ar lielu interesei, jo kaut kā tā sanācis, ka atmiņā spilgti nosēdies cariskās Krievijas “zelta laiks”, bet par tā norietu lasīts bija maz. Vecos cara laikus un jaunos boļševiku laikus nosacīti nošķir 1905.gada revolūcija, tomēr, kādi notikumi risinājās laikā, kad boļševiki līdzās pastāvēja ar caru, kā bija iespējams, ka cariskā Krievija padodas boļševiku prasībām, kas notika ar ietekmīgo Romānovu dzimtu un kāda loma tur bija apdziedātajam Rasputinam – to visu uzzināju no šī stāsta.
Caur lappusēm ļoti varēja just, ka autors nopietni pētījis laiku par kuru raksta līdz pat detaļām, lai vidi atainotu iespējami ticamāku. Negaidiet no šīs grāmatas brutālo un nežēlīgo Sabuļaskaites “Pētera imperatori”, jo šis ir cits laiks un šis ir arī cits autora rokraksts, tomēr iesaku šo izlasīt – labs, izglītojošs vēsturisks romāns.
Interesanti, ka šajā stāstā nejūtu līdzi nevienam varonim – bija interesanti, bet kaut kādu iemeslu dēļ nespēju izjust īpašu empātiju pret cariskās ģimenes ciešanām un just līdzi viņu nestundās.
4,2⭐️