The Last Grand Duchess, subtitled "A Novel of Olga Romanov, Imperial Russia, and Revolution," looks at the last years of the Russian imperial family through the eyes of the Tsar and Tsarina's oldest daughter, Olga. As she comes of age, her eyes begin opening to the reality of the political situation around her, and her parents' role in creating it.
It's a dual-timeline novel that contrasts an era of opulent balls, tea parties, and the advent of WWI with scenes taking place several years later, beginning in 1917, after Nicholas II's forced abdication of the throne and the family's subsequent captivity and exile. Everyone had opinions on the split-timeline aspect, which made for a good discussion.
The program's just under an hour. It's embedded below and also available by visiting YouTube.
Off the Shelf is an offshoot of the Step into the Story Facebook group (which I'm part of), and the show has regular episodes with discussions about intriguing historical novels and aspects of the writing process. I'm glad to have been a part of it!
Wow! I sure enjoyed the podcast and will look for the book. Also appreciate learning about their FB page.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it! I definitely recommend the book.
ReplyDeleteWhat made you love this book so much? Just wondering, as your 5-star ratings are usually great
ReplyDeleteFrom your comment, I'm guessing you didn't care for the book? I especially enjoyed the characterizations and the poetic writing style, and how it showed a new angle on the last years of the Romanovs. Plus, while reading (like I mentioned in the videocast) I had Catherine Gavin's The Snow Mountain in the back of my mind, which was a longtime favorite but featured Olga in a made-up romance. This novel was more historically accurate than Gavin's, which I appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Ariel Lawhon's "I was Anastasia"? That book is phenomenal and I think you'll like it too!
ReplyDeleteI think there isn't enough fiction about the Romanov's out there
Any other Romanov fiction recommendations besides The Snow Mountain and Last Grand Duchess? I love Romanov fiction! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'd also recommend C. W. Gortner's The Romanov Empress and the novels of Robert Alexander. I Was Anastasia was okay, but not my favorite. I knew what the ending would be, so there wasn't much suspense, but I appreciated the way it focused on her identity. My review is here if you're curious!
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