People who know me know that The last Romanov family are my passion, and this book pulled at my heartstrings more than expected.
The Tsarina’s Daughter was a book that I got as a Secret Santa gift a couple of Christmases ago, and I have only just got around to reading it.
Prefacing in 1989, we meet Daria Gradov – an elderly grandmother living in the West. She claims to be the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. Who she actually is, the Grand Duchess Tatiana, has been a secret she has kept for many years. Her real parents are in fact Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. In The Tsarina’s Daughter, Tatiana tells her story, and takes us back in time to Russian royalty.The story mainly focuses on a young Tania, who lives a life of incredible luxury during the reign of the Romanov’s. Her younger brother is diagnosed with hemophilia, and the only way he seems to be able to survive lies with the monk Rasputin, who becomes a focal point of the family, but also represents an omen of impending tragedy.When war breaks out and the Russian Revolution engulfs Russia, the family go from reigning power to imprisonment in Siberia. Erickson’s take on a piece of history and her own spin on the character’s lives, interactions, and adventures is beautifully written – you feel as if you are there with them throughout the story.
I didn’t expect to be so deeply touched by this book. It actually took me a while to get in to the writing style of Carolly Erickson – but once I did, I loved it. It is a really interesting take on a tragic piece of history perhaps being able to have a happier ending, at least in the world of fiction.
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