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"Independent historian Gelardi has done her homework, drawing on an impressive array of primary and secondary sources to deliver a joint biography of four women who were part of Russia's imperial dynasty in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. . . . Against the backdrop of a tumultuous period in Russian history, this is really a book about an extended family, with a family's sorrows, joys, squabbles, and scandals, albeit on a very grand scale. . . . this is an absorbing account that will appeal to Russian history buffs and to those who enjoy reading about royals."--"Booklist""Relating the drama and tragedy of royal life, Gelardi ably weaves in the extended family ties that connected most European rulers, including Queen Victoria, while also including helpful genealogy charts. Gelardi's narrative framework of the four Romanov women's long lives works well to explain not only the realties of the European courts and alliances but also the unique aspects of the Russian dynasty, which suffered repeated assassination attempts even during the age of splendor, resulting in young Nicholas II's observation of his grandfather's murder, possibly hastening Russia's slide to revolution."--"Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
"Gelardi does an exceptional job of relating the last years of the Romanovs via the formerly underutilized perspectives of the women behind the men. While Orlando Figes's "Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia "used Tolstoy's "War and Peace" as its framework, telling some of the same story, Gelardi offers a more richly detailed account, sure to captivate those with a deep interest in Russian and interrelated European history. Highly recommended."--"Library Journal"
"Gelardi's style, as in her previous work, the superb "In Triumph's Wake," is simple, straightforward and engaging. Her research is thorough and her sources solid. She contrasts well the Romanovs' privileged lives with the privations brought on by the Russian Revolution
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The early 1850s until the late 1920s marked a turbulent and significant era for Russia. During that time the country underwent a massive transformation, taking it from days of grandeur under the tsars to the chaos of revolution and the beginnings of the Soviet Union. At the centre of all this tumult were four women of the Romanov dynasty. Marie Alexandrovna and Olga Constantinovna were born into the family, Russian Grand Duchesses at birth. Marie Feodorovna and Marie Pavlovna married into the dynasty, the former born a Princess of Denmark, the latter a Duchess of the German duchy of Mecklendburg-Schwerin. In "From Splendor to Revolution", we watch these pampered aristocratic women fight for their lives as the cataclysm of war engulfs them. In a matter of a few short years, they fell from the pinnacle of wealth and power to the depths of danger, poverty, and exile. It is an unforgettable epic story.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I started my review on Julia Gelardi's first book with the lines: I was first sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. I should not have been." And this applies to her third book as well. It is a pleasure to read. She finds a common threat justifiying to combine the biographies of these four women.
Two are born Romanovs, two married into the Romanov family: in the first category are Olga, the Grandduchess turned into the first Queen of the Hellenes of modern times, and Maria Alexandrovna, the Czar's very own and only daughter turned into the Duchess of Edinburgh and later sovereign Duches Consort of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In the second category are Marie Feodorovna(Dagmar) of Denmark, the consort of Emperor Alexander III and mother of Nicolas II, and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Granduchess Vladimir, the Empress of the Salon and mother of the frist Emperor-in-Exile. The center is Marie Feodorovna as all the other three ladies are her sisters-in-law.
Julia Geraldi recreates the splendid world of the Romanov court and the roles these four leading ladies played. However, unlike many memoires of the time wirtten by personalities deeply involved in the Czarist regime it is not a mere
complilation of splendid ceremonies and all the glamour of it. Yes, of course she has to give us that and she does not fail, but she tries to flash out the personalities, the characters, the ambitions, the famliy relationships and the spectaluar shortcomings. She puts all the glamour of it in sharp contrast to the misery of the masses. She makes one understand why the Romanov Empire crumbled and imploded from its very own contradictions. The Romanov family was not a united family, a solid block standing against a revolution, but a family of division. It showed that a autocratic regime depends on survival on the autocrat and if he is not "up to the job".
I was particuarly pleased to read about the Grandduchess Vladimir, a personlaity I always found intruguing but - at least to my knowledge - had never been sole subject of a biography.
The only misgiving I have is that Julia Gelardi seems to have exclusively consulted sources not in the Russian language.
Otherwise, a book I have no hestitation to recommend. It is pleasure to read - equally for those who have already read extensively about the Romanovs and those who just started.
Two are born Romanovs, two married into the Romanov family: in the first category are Olga, the Grandduchess turned into the first Queen of the Hellenes of modern times, and Maria Alexandrovna, the Czar's very own and only daughter turned into the Duchess of Edinburgh and later sovereign Duches Consort of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In the second category are Marie Feodorovna(Dagmar) of Denmark, the consort of Emperor Alexander III and mother of Nicolas II, and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Granduchess Vladimir, the Empress of the Salon and mother of the frist Emperor-in-Exile. The center is Marie Feodorovna as all the other three ladies are her sisters-in-law.
Julia Geraldi recreates the splendid world of the Romanov court and the roles these four leading ladies played. However, unlike many memoires of the time wirtten by personalities deeply involved in the Czarist regime it is not a mere
complilation of splendid ceremonies and all the glamour of it. Yes, of course she has to give us that and she does not fail, but she tries to flash out the personalities, the characters, the ambitions, the famliy relationships and the spectaluar shortcomings. She puts all the glamour of it in sharp contrast to the misery of the masses. She makes one understand why the Romanov Empire crumbled and imploded from its very own contradictions. The Romanov family was not a united family, a solid block standing against a revolution, but a family of division. It showed that a autocratic regime depends on survival on the autocrat and if he is not "up to the job".
I was particuarly pleased to read about the Grandduchess Vladimir, a personlaity I always found intruguing but - at least to my knowledge - had never been sole subject of a biography.
The only misgiving I have is that Julia Gelardi seems to have exclusively consulted sources not in the Russian language.
Otherwise, a book I have no hestitation to recommend. It is pleasure to read - equally for those who have already read extensively about the Romanovs and those who just started.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having enjoyed Julia P. Gelardi's previous books, I was looking forward to this with great anticipation, and I was not disappointed. For anyone interested in the Romanov's, this is the sweeping saga of four of the Romanov women, taking the story from 1847-1928. Rather than concentrating on the story of the Tsar and imperial family (interesting as it is, it has been done many times before), Gelardi takes four women from the generation above Tsar Nicholas II. There is Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, wife of Alexander III and mother of the ill fated Tsar. Queen Olga of Greece, daughter of Constantine, brother of Alexander II. Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, sister to Alexander III. Lastly, Marie Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, brother of Alexander III. To be honest, as much as I love my kindle, I was glad this was only available as a hardback when I ordered it - I needed to refer to the genealogy tables quite often at first, until I was sure who everybody was. Two of the women were born into the Romanov dynasty and two married into it, living lives of opulent luxury. However, by the end of the Revolution and WWI, their lives (and Europe) had changed completely. The first half of the book takes us up to 1905, recounting the lives, loves and marriages of these incredibly interesting women. In the second half of the book, the enormous changes wrought by unfolding revolution are recounted.
It was really interesting to have a large part of the book concentrate on the pre-revolution years, as many books seem to skip over those and concentrate on the revolution. However, understanding how these women lived and their family ties, made the coming disasters more poignant. It was illuminating how the women themselves, especially the Empress, foresaw the approaching unrest and tried their best to avert it. The book follows the women into old age and the upheaval of all they had known. This was an extremely well written and fascinating account of a forgotten era, as well as being a superior biography. Whatever you may think about how these women lived in such magnificent splendour, and Gelardi is fair in her assessment, using the word 'imperious' quite a few times, as well as recounting their charity work and kindness - they were a product of their age and status. I thought it was a great read, even better than her previous books. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in the Romanov dynasty.
It was really interesting to have a large part of the book concentrate on the pre-revolution years, as many books seem to skip over those and concentrate on the revolution. However, understanding how these women lived and their family ties, made the coming disasters more poignant. It was illuminating how the women themselves, especially the Empress, foresaw the approaching unrest and tried their best to avert it. The book follows the women into old age and the upheaval of all they had known. This was an extremely well written and fascinating account of a forgotten era, as well as being a superior biography. Whatever you may think about how these women lived in such magnificent splendour, and Gelardi is fair in her assessment, using the word 'imperious' quite a few times, as well as recounting their charity work and kindness - they were a product of their age and status. I thought it was a great read, even better than her previous books. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in the Romanov dynasty.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An Insight to the changes of the lives of the Ladies of the Russian Court, viewed form a perspective not covered before.
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