The Grand Duchesses: Daughters & Granddaughters of Russia's Tsars

by Arturo E. Beéche

This excellent volume includes biographies of more than twenty women of the Russian Imperial Family, from the daughters of Tsar Paul I to the present-day claimant to the Russian imperial throne.

The Grand Duchesses is an unprecedented compilation of information regarding the Romanovs and Russia.

Genres: History, Russian History, Royalty, Nonfiction, Russia, Biography, Romanovs

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remembered why I typically skip reading books by small or obscure presses. This book was poor in its quality and presentation. There were numerous editorial mistakes, ranging from commas instead of periods in places, to what seems to be an actual editorial comment left in. Page 21 reads, "Visits to Torquay continued over the years, but relief to her ailments was only temporary. The same happened (what? relief of her symptoms?) with her visits to Italy..." I couldn't help but think it was like reading a high-school essay, complete with teacher comments in the margin.

There was also mistakes in facts that even I, as a reader and non-expert, could find. In one chapter, Marie was named as the first of three sisters, and Olga the second, while in the next chapter, Olga was named as the eldest. And not a name change-- both chapter-bios claim their sister as eldest, and obviously both cannot be. Nobody could have caught that major mistake?

Because each chapter was written by a different author, the book lacked a continuity and flow. Some grand duchesses' stories were lavishly explained, while others were not given more than a few lines in a chapter about multiple daughters or granddaughters. And because of the Russian name usage --so many girls had the same name, or a similar one, and then a nickname, and then I realized that I knew them by yet another name from having read a text where they were referred to a different way-- the book comes off as a rather confusing read.

An example of the lack of flow--p. 185 states when Kyril proclaimed himself Tsar in exile that it "infuriated most of the other surviving Romanovs." Less than 10 pages later on p. 191, the book states that "most members of the exiled Romanov family supported Kirill's decision." Two authors, two different opinions... but it just adds to the confusion and lack of credibility of the text.

The best presentation of the material would not have been to have individual works, but for a common author to have reworked each of the writings into a text, instead of this strange mish-mash of essays.

Each essay does list a bibliography of sources and it does seem that the authors did some research, and since there's not much else written about some of these girls (I've not even heard of some of the granddaughters, I admit) I still give it two stars. But will I be adding it to my Romanov library? Definitely not. And it's definitely not a work for a casual fan to try and read--you'll end up more confused than educated.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 2 out of 5]

If what you want is long encyclopedic entries and very basic information, this book is exactly for you. If what you want is a concise, coherent and engaging story of some truly remarkable women, there is no reason for you to give attention to this publication. Since each chapter is written by a different author a lot of basic information is repeated, not to mention the authors differ a lot when it comes to writing skills and story-telling talents. Thus some chapters read quite easily, others are nothing short of jarring. The whole book feels disjointed because of this. Number of other things added to my frustration: typos, historical mistakes (for example Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I., is introduced in her chapter as the oldest of three sisters, when in fact she was born second) and even undeleted editorial notes (!!!) within the text. The women this books is uspposedly about are, in great majority, merely mentioned within the frames of their marriages, their parents and husbands sometimes getting more "page time" then themselves! The saddest example has to be the one dedicated to the daughters of Nicholas II. They are barely in it!! Finally, even though I understand the costs of publishing, this book is so poorly made that it fell apart in my hands just from being opened.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well-written and researched, with a lot of information that's practically impossible to find anywhere else (especially in the case of the lesser-known Grand Duchesses such as the daughters of Paul I, Nicholas I and Michael Pavlovich). A must-read for all interested in the Romanovs.

[Xenia0201 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this is the only source listing every known Russian grand duchess since Alexander I. A must have for Russophiles.