The Romanov Bride

March 3, 2008
In this robust historical set during the Romanov twilight, Alexander (The Kitchen Boy
) chronicles the careers of two emblematic individuals—the real-life Grand Duchess Elisavyeta (“Ella”), sister of Alexandra, the last tsarina, and the fictional Pavel, a young revolutionary. The author's extensive knowledge of Russia allows him to invigorate the narrative with telling details that bring the aristocrat Ella, who eventually became an Orthodox saint, convincingly to life. His depictions of workers' miseries, from the breadlines to sausage made from cat, are especially strong. Pavel takes part in key events affecting Ella—such as the planning for her husband's assassination—as well as in the street violence that metastasizes into the Bolshevik Revolution. Quick-cutting between the two characters' perspectives gives readers the opposing viewpoints of nobility and proletariat, emphasizing the obliviousness of each group to the other. As in Doctor Zhivago
, coincidence abounds and some scenes and themes call to mind that classic, but this is a compelling journey through momentous events that wraps up with a fine, deeply moving finale. 6-city author tour.

March 1, 2008
As in his nationally best-selling "The Kitchen Boy" and "Rasputin's Daughter", Alexander here melds historical fact with fictional speculation. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of Pavel, a peasant, and Elisavyeta (Ella), the German-born granddaughter of Queen Victoria, sister-in-law to Czar Nicholas and the privileged wife of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich, a Romanov. In 1905, czarist soldiers fire at a group of peaceful protesters, and Pavel's young bride is among the murdered. Determined to avenge her death and eliminate the aristocracy, Pavel becomes a dedicated revolutionary. When he assassinates Sergei, Ella's life takes a dramatic turn: she sells her worldly possessions, establishes a convent, and perseveres by helping Moscow's poor. Then, seized in the night, she comes face to face with Pavel in the distant woods of Siberia. Pavel's accounts, though sometimes bogged down by stock revolutionary phrases, reveal how ideology as well as riches can blind individuals. Similarities in Ella's and Pavel's situations provide one of many discussion points, which will draw the interest of book clubs; public libraries will also want copies for historical fiction fans.Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2008
This passionate yet poised third installment of the authors series of historical novels about the end of the Russian monarchy, which include The Kitchen Boy (2005) and Rasputins Daughter (2006), brings from the vault of history the life of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth (Ella), who was born a princess of Hesse and marriedinto the doomed Romanov dynasty. Widely considered one of the most beautiful royal ladies in the Europe of her day, Ella wed Grand Duke Sergei, who served as governor-general of Moscow, and found herself thrust into a spectacularly opulent world, the Russian imperial regime being the most gilded in Europe. But Ella always remained the good, caring person she had been as a child.The novels format takes the form of alternating first-person narrations, by Ella, as her world slides into revolutionary chaos, and by the young peasant Pavel, who, drawn into the revolutionary movement, embarkson a path that will directly intersect with the Grand Duchess, with fatal results.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)