What do you think?
Rate this book
The Russian Imperial Family: In Their Own Words
Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918
Translated for the First Time in English with Annotations by a Leading Expert, the Romanov Family’s Final Years Through the Writings of the Second Oldest Daughter
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia was the second of the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Long recognized by historians as the undisputed “beauty” of the family, Tatiana was acknowledged for her poise, her elegance, and her innate dignity within her own family. Helen Azar, translator of the diaries of Olga Romanov, and Nicholas B. A. Nicholson, Russian Imperial historian, have joined together to present a truly comprehensive picture of this extraordinarily gifted, complex, and intelligent woman in her own words. Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918, presents translations of material never before published in Russian or in English, as well as materials never published in their entirety in the West.
The brisk, modern prose of Tatiana’s diary entries reveals the character of a young woman who was far more than the sheltered imperial beauty as she previously has been portrayed. While many historians and writers describe her as a cold, haughty, and distant aristocrat, this book shows instead a remarkably down-to-earth and humorous young woman, full of life and compassion. A detail-oriented and observant participant in some of the most important historical events of the early twentieth century, she left firsthand descriptions of the tercentenary celebrations of the House of Romanov, the early years of Russia’s involvement in World War I, and the road to her family’s final days in Siberian exile. Her writings reveal extraordinary details previously unknown or unacknowledged. Lavishly annotated for the benefit of the nonspecialist reader, this book is not only a reevaluation of Tatiana’s role as more than just one of four sisters, but also a valuable reference on Russia, the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the people closest to the Grand Duchess and her family.
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia was the second of the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Long recognized by historians as the undisputed “beauty” of the family, Tatiana was acknowledged for her poise, her elegance, and her innate dignity within her own family. Helen Azar, translator of the diaries of Olga Romanov, and Nicholas B. A. Nicholson, Russian Imperial historian, have joined together to present a truly comprehensive picture of this extraordinarily gifted, complex, and intelligent woman in her own words. Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918, presents translations of material never before published in Russian or in English, as well as materials never published in their entirety in the West.
The brisk, modern prose of Tatiana’s diary entries reveals the character of a young woman who was far more than the sheltered imperial beauty as she previously has been portrayed. While many historians and writers describe her as a cold, haughty, and distant aristocrat, this book shows instead a remarkably down-to-earth and humorous young woman, full of life and compassion. A detail-oriented and observant participant in some of the most important historical events of the early twentieth century, she left firsthand descriptions of the tercentenary celebrations of the House of Romanov, the early years of Russia’s involvement in World War I, and the road to her family’s final days in Siberian exile. Her writings reveal extraordinary details previously unknown or unacknowledged. Lavishly annotated for the benefit of the nonspecialist reader, this book is not only a reevaluation of Tatiana’s role as more than just one of four sisters, but also a valuable reference on Russia, the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the people closest to the Grand Duchess and her family.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2015
26 people are currently reading
529 people want to read
About the author
Helen Azar
22 books107 followersHelen Azar has been interested in history of the Romanov Dynasty for many years, ever since she became fascinated with the saga of the human remains discovered outside Ekaterinburg in the 1990s, which were proven to be those of Russia’s murdered imperial family. The subsequent controversy about these bones, and Helen’s science background (she studied biochemistry), moved her to co-author several articles explaining the authenticity of the remains.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 13, 2016
For years one thing annoyed me about books about the Romanovs. They had four girls and none of them ever really appeared in the books. Usually confined to a page or two, lumped together as OTMA they came across as nuns sheltered from the world in a convent like environment, each with a word or two to describe their personality. Olga was smart, Tatiana haughty, Marie pretty and charming and Anastasia the mischievous one. And of course we all know that the youngest of the girls got the most publicity thanks to events after the revolution. Thankfully in recent years this has changed and several books have come out devoted to these four young ladies. Best of all many allow them to tell their own stories. I've made my way through the diaries of Olga and the "little pair" it's time to read about Tatiana. She truly comes alive in these pages. Though her day to day life was somewhat mundane, I felt I could hear her voice come through the page. I was amused to read that her parents had similar problems reading her letters and writing as mine did. Tatiana comes across not as haughty or stuck up, but a hard working, caring health care worker, a devoted daughter and sister, and it made me sad to think of what might've been if she had lived. Would she have founded a hospital for wounded and recovering soldiers, or a nursing school? Sadly thanks to history we will never know. But I'm glad now that after so long I have finally got my wish and feel like I have gotten to know these four unique young women who had once been lost to history.
November 6, 2021
6 November 2021
Dear Tatiana,
thank you, for letting me getting to know you through your own words. Thank you for showing me how utterly funny, caring, brave, strong, kind, and warm you were. I feel both honoured and priviledged to have read about your life through your pespective: your everyday chores, the war, revolution, and personal issues.
The world lost an angel the day you died, and we miss you. So much. May you rest in eternal peace. Meet me when my time shall come. Thank you, darling. Sleep well and see me in your dreams.
From a woman you have never met but admires you deeply.
Dear Tatiana,
thank you, for letting me getting to know you through your own words. Thank you for showing me how utterly funny, caring, brave, strong, kind, and warm you were. I feel both honoured and priviledged to have read about your life through your pespective: your everyday chores, the war, revolution, and personal issues.
The world lost an angel the day you died, and we miss you. So much. May you rest in eternal peace. Meet me when my time shall come. Thank you, darling. Sleep well and see me in your dreams.
From a woman you have never met but admires you deeply.
September 8, 2019
A short book, it took me just a few hours to finish it. I’ve read many books on the Romanovs, my favorites were by Robert K. Massive and Simon-Sebag Montefiore, both incredibly rich in description and facts. This book by Helen Azar and Nicholas B.A. Nicholson, Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tzar, was a completely different form since it was a diary with notes by the authors. As I was reading, I kept thinking, she doesn’t have much variety in her life, from home to eating meals with her family, to bandaging injured soldiers, to writing letters to Papa, the Tzar. The book was, because of this, redundant, Interesting, but repetitive. I did like reading the abdication papers of Nicholas when he was forced to leave as ruler of Russia. Not much was said about Rasputin, which I found very interesting. This is a book, truly, for the fan of Alexandra and Nicholas Romanov.
December 29, 2019
The author talks in the preface about how Western historians often thought of Tatiana as cold and/or haughty and I’m ashamed to say that was the impression I’d originally thought of as well. I really loved the chance to get to know her more in these pages, especially seeing how deeply seriously she took her duties as a nurse in training and how much she cared for both her family and all the soldiers she looked after. Her devotion and kindness clearly shine through. I feel so blessed that these books exist and I can really get a clearer picture of who the girls are as individuals.
January 4, 2023
Tatiana was a beautiful soul who did so much good in her short life. I liked how letters from her family and friends are placed in between the diary entries to show how much she was loved.
September 10, 2024
Oh sweet Tatiana…
April 17, 2021
Ah, what a wonderfully insightful book. Azar's meticulous translations provide a fantastic insight into Tatiana's personality, her idiosyncrasies and the dynamics and routines of the Imperial Family. The footnotes are meticulously detailed and are frequent, so this is perfect for both those familiar with the Romanovs and Tsarist Russia and those who are new to the subject- the only thing I think could help for new readers would be a short summary of the key events of each year. The writings provided present an encompassing view of Tatiana's daily life and I was pleasantly surprised that her wit and humour, which has sadly been looked over by many, is thoroughly communicated here. Furthermore, the use of sources from Tatiana's friends, patients and relatives were a lovely touch and highlighted the warmth that she showed to others.
Azar's books are always brilliant, with thorough research. It was also very refreshing to see an illustration section with photographs which were accurately dated and given wider context, something that I have seldom seen in other books about OTMA. I am anticipating enjoying the rest of the books by her.
Azar's books are always brilliant, with thorough research. It was also very refreshing to see an illustration section with photographs which were accurately dated and given wider context, something that I have seldom seen in other books about OTMA. I am anticipating enjoying the rest of the books by her.
Read
February 5, 2023Tatiana has always been portrayed as haughty, aloof, and altogether the picture perfect grand duchess. This collection of her journals, letters, and other people's interactions with her show that she was actually very warm, kind, smart and down to earth. She was a skilled nurse, too! This book makes sure she is remembered for her own merits rather than leaving her as a mere footnote in history.
October 24, 2018
These books are such a blessing to anyone with serious interest in everyday life of the last Romanovs!
November 16, 2018
Mostly skimmed this. It's a bit too dry and more of a reference for someone who might want to write a story about this tragic family. The notes were just too distracting for me.
January 6, 2022
Tatiana, It was an honour to be able to read your own words and see these historical advents from your perspective.
December 10, 2024
my favourite romanov sister. it felt like i really got to know her. what an affectionate, caring, kind soul.
July 25, 2016
I was so great as a person with interest in Russian history to read this book. Recommend to anyone interested in the daughters of Nicholas II. This book gave insight into their private life like no biography can, in the words of the second daughter of the last Tsar of Russia, writing during WW1 and the Russian Revolution.
July 3, 2024
She’s just a girl.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews