metchap 's review for:

Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty by Robert K. Massie

5.0

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What I liked most about this book was the inevitability of the tragedy. Indeed I think that is one of the components of great tragedy: watching a character make a decision that, knowing the full irony of the situation, is exactly the wrong choice to make. In this book, whether they are sympathetic or not, all of the people are so clearly realized that I felt I knew they could never make another choice. Rasputin would always manipulate others with no broader aims or vision than his own selfish desires. Empress Alexandra, as the mother of a hemophiliac child, would always take desperate measures for the safety of her son. Czar Nicholas, who swore to maintain the autocracy for his son, would always choose to uphold his authority instead of common sense. It was compelling in that excruciating way that makes all great tragedy and i just loved it.