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
