Far Fly the Eagles

Romanov Trilogy #3

by Evelyn Anthony

This final volume in the Romanov trilogy relives the story of Czar Alexander the First, grandson of Catherine the Great and his opponent Napoleon, the Emperor of France. It leads to some of the bloodiest battles of the century and culminates in the 100 days War and Waterloo.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Russia, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Evelyn Anthony was the pen name of Evelyn Bridgett Patricia Stephens Ward-Thomas,

Started her career as a writer of historical fiction, later switched to writing contemporary thrillers, often with an espionage theme.

She met Michael Ward-Thomas on a double date in The Dorchester and both were attracted to each other.] He worked for the Consolidated African Selection Trust. They switched partners and were married a few months later.

They bought Horham Hall in 1968 but found that it was costly and sold it in 1976 and moved to Naas, County Kildare where she had relatives. Increased income from her writing allowed her to buy Horham Hall back in 1982.

In 1994 she became High Sheriff of Essex, the firswt woman in over 700 years to hold this office.

In 1995 her daughter Kitty died of a heroin overdose, leading Evelyn to not write for another seven years.

In 2004 her husband died of a stroke.

She was survived by her children Susan, Anthony, Ewan, Christian and Luke as well as 16 grandchildren.

NB:Some sources give Ms Anthonys year of birth as 1926.

Additional information added from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Robbi Leah Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first two books in this trilogy. The author focused on the greed, love, power struggles, insanity etc of the royal family of Russia in the other two books. This book went way off track. It was all about the war with Napoleon and only here and there with the royal family. I understand the war was huge during this time but I felt I was reading the same battles as War & Peace. I gave two stars because I love history but I really wanted to learn more about Russian Royalty in the same theme as the other two books. This I had to force myself to finish and if you are looking for a love story or a huge power struggle this is not it. If you have read War & Peace skip all together. I will still read other novels by this author in hopes she will go back to her original writing.

Merged review:

I loved the first two books in this trilogy. The author focused on the greed, love, power struggles, insanity etc of the royal family of Russia in the other two books. This book went way off track. It was all about the war with Napoleon and only here and there with the royal family. I understand the war was huge during this time but I felt I was reading the same battles as War & Peace. I gave two stars because I love history but I really wanted to learn more about Russian Royalty in the same theme as the other two books. This I had to force myself to finish and if you are looking for a love story or a huge power struggle this is not it. If you have read War & Peace skip all together. I will still read other novels by this author in hopes she will go back to her original writing.

[David Dunlap · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this book, novelist Anthony completes her Romanov Trilogy. The book centers on the enigmatic Tsar Alexander I and, given the time in which he lived, Napoleon Bonaparte. The two men are antagonists, locked in a battle for control of Europe. Alexander, who participated in his father's murder to gain the throne, has struggles within his own family: his passionate sister Catherine Pavlovna wants to follow the example of her grandmother (her namesake, Catherine the Great) and rule Russia instead of Alexander, and his brother Constantine (who really has no stomach for the idea of being Tsar) has become the center of a peace party at court. -- The novel traces all these interactions and interminglings -- plots and counterplots -- as Alexander struggles to maintain control at home and dominance abroad. -- The Tsar emerges pretty much as he does in history: a complicated mass of contradictions, with, perhaps, a darker cast to his character than is usually held. I'm not altogether certain that we readers come to any kind of conclusions as to Alexander (for example: was his late conversion genuine?), but, then again, we may not be expected to do so. -- I enjoyed this book, though not -quite- as much as the two previous entries in the trilogy. Still, I would recommend it to anyone interested in the period or in Russian history in general.

[betty russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This was an exceptional read. Ms Anthony has a fantastic way of telling a great story about a Czar that I personally haven’t heard to much about. I love it and highly recommended

[Blubonnet1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

04/23/2024

[HalKid2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's call it 2.5 stars. In the third volume of Evelyn Anthony's Romanov trilogy, it's a face-off between Czar Alexander I and Napoleon over control of Europe. Lots of politics and battles and some interesting insights into the Romanov family, including a glimpse into the strange relationship between Alexander and his beautiful and power-hungry sister, Catherine. Not Anthony's best historical novel but well worth the time if you're as interested in Russian history as I am.

[Lin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is described as historical romance, but there was very little romance in this book. It was more like reading a history book with some dialogue thrown in to qualify it as a novel. The book tells the story of Alexander, Czar of Russia, battle against Napolean.

[Carolyn Gebhard]

I learned a lot about Napoleon and the history with other nations