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A Fatal Passion: The Story of the Uncrowned Last Empress of Russia
After the firing squads of the Russian Revolution murdered Czar Nicholas II, Czarina Alexandra, and almost every other member of the Romanov family, there appeared in a small coastal village of western France a grand duke and duchess who proclaimed themselves to be the new monarchs of Russia.
The grand duchess was Victoria Melita, nicknamed Ducky. To begin with, she was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria as well as of Czar Alexander of Russia. Her sister was the remarkable Queen Marie of Romania, and her intricate family connections with the rulers of the world were almost unprecedented.
The first cousin not only of King George V but also of Kaiser Wilhelm and Czar Nicholas, she had previously been married to Ernst Ludwig, grand duke of Hesse and the Rhine, but this relationship was destroyed by dark secrets, a betrayal that filled her with bitterness and shame.
Then, in a scandal that shocked the royal world, she married Kirill, a cousin of the late czar of Russia. She had married and divorced one of her first cousins and then married another--her father's nephew, and then her mother's nephew.
The family opposition was so great that Victoria Melita and Kirill were stripped of their wealth and their titles before being banished from Russia. When they were finally allowed to return, they tried in vain to bring democratic reforms to the dying, autocratic monarchy in a desperate effort to save it.
Trapped, inevitably, by the revolution, they managed to make an incredible and perilous escape, which led to a long life in exile abroad as pretenders to the throne.
Victoria Melita had never aspired to play the role of an empress without a throne. The shadowy life of a royal pretender was the last thing this strong and independent woman had ever wanted. However, her passionate nature had centered itself totally upon her adored second husband, and, now, as Kirill set up his imperial court in the French fishing village of St. Briac and assumed the title of emperor of Russia, Victoria Melita became his empress and for twelve years proudly worked by her husband's side for the restoration of the monarchy.
And then, unexpectedly and brutally, her world collapsed again, and her inability to compromise almost brought her to ruin.
A Fatal Passion is the story of great wealth and privilege when rival royal families vied for position and power even as they were about to lose almost everything in the First World War. Among the few who survived the painful times was Victoria Melita, one of the most beautiful and liberated women of her era.
The book is set against the majestic canvas of Queen Victoria's far-flung empire, the intrigues of the royal courts of Europe, and the exotic splendor and fantastic events of imperial Russia as it balanced on the precipice of disaster. It culminates in the turbulent era of ruthless dictators and the advent of the Second World War.
Through the use of private diaries and letters previously unpublished, as well as exclusive interviews with many of the surviving principals, Michael John Sullivan has revealed the heart and mind of a remarkable woman, who, for too long, has been largely overlooked by history.
The grand duchess was Victoria Melita, nicknamed Ducky. To begin with, she was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria as well as of Czar Alexander of Russia. Her sister was the remarkable Queen Marie of Romania, and her intricate family connections with the rulers of the world were almost unprecedented.
The first cousin not only of King George V but also of Kaiser Wilhelm and Czar Nicholas, she had previously been married to Ernst Ludwig, grand duke of Hesse and the Rhine, but this relationship was destroyed by dark secrets, a betrayal that filled her with bitterness and shame.
Then, in a scandal that shocked the royal world, she married Kirill, a cousin of the late czar of Russia. She had married and divorced one of her first cousins and then married another--her father's nephew, and then her mother's nephew.
The family opposition was so great that Victoria Melita and Kirill were stripped of their wealth and their titles before being banished from Russia. When they were finally allowed to return, they tried in vain to bring democratic reforms to the dying, autocratic monarchy in a desperate effort to save it.
Trapped, inevitably, by the revolution, they managed to make an incredible and perilous escape, which led to a long life in exile abroad as pretenders to the throne.
Victoria Melita had never aspired to play the role of an empress without a throne. The shadowy life of a royal pretender was the last thing this strong and independent woman had ever wanted. However, her passionate nature had centered itself totally upon her adored second husband, and, now, as Kirill set up his imperial court in the French fishing village of St. Briac and assumed the title of emperor of Russia, Victoria Melita became his empress and for twelve years proudly worked by her husband's side for the restoration of the monarchy.
And then, unexpectedly and brutally, her world collapsed again, and her inability to compromise almost brought her to ruin.
A Fatal Passion is the story of great wealth and privilege when rival royal families vied for position and power even as they were about to lose almost everything in the First World War. Among the few who survived the painful times was Victoria Melita, one of the most beautiful and liberated women of her era.
The book is set against the majestic canvas of Queen Victoria's far-flung empire, the intrigues of the royal courts of Europe, and the exotic splendor and fantastic events of imperial Russia as it balanced on the precipice of disaster. It culminates in the turbulent era of ruthless dictators and the advent of the Second World War.
Through the use of private diaries and letters previously unpublished, as well as exclusive interviews with many of the surviving principals, Michael John Sullivan has revealed the heart and mind of a remarkable woman, who, for too long, has been largely overlooked by history.
473 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 23, 2018
This was a fascinating book, so the four stars reflects my reading experience. I do have a couple of quibbles with the author. I know it must be hard to do enormous amounts of research on a subject and not come away with strong personal feelings pro or con, but one needs to show and not tell. Give us the facts and let us decide this person's weakness and strength. He clearly worships Victoria Melita, she does no wrong and he CONSTANTLY goes on about her being a great beauty, which she actually wasn't. Not that it matters one bit either way but enough already. And we are often told how to feel about others, he might as well have held up the BOO HISS sign when Empress Alexandra makes an appearance. I keep hearing the voice of my journalism teacher harping about EDITORIAL COMMENT. So some of this has to be taken with a grain of salt. But it's another great example of how truth is always stranger than fiction.
August 25, 2016
I admire Victoria Melita for various reasons, but if you didn't know better and this book were the only thing you ever read about her, you'd think the sun simply shone out of her you-know-what. I know this was basically an official biography, considering the cooperation of Ducky's son Vladimir, her niece Ileana, and various other family members, but a little objectivity on the author's part would have been appreciated. I did find the information from Princess Ileana to the author about Ducky's first marriage to be really interesting - which is, I understand, exclusive to this book.
John Van der Kiste's Ducky bio is heavily--and I mean HEAVILY--quoted in this book and is reputed to be the better of the two. I look forward to reading that one. This was a disappointment.
John Van der Kiste's Ducky bio is heavily--and I mean HEAVILY--quoted in this book and is reputed to be the better of the two. I look forward to reading that one. This was a disappointment.
April 18, 2008
Despite the silly title, which sounds as if it belongs on a romance novel; this is a pretty interesting book.
The author tries to portray Princess Victoria Melita as a beautiful and pivitol woman at the crossroads of history. In my opinion she is more accurately described as a minor footnote in the grand scope of European history before and after WWI.
She is the second daughter of Queen Victoria's second son Prince Alfred. To me she is interesting because she has a prime seat in which to view one of history's greatest family feuds, a little matter called World War One.
In an age when the destiny of counties was determined by absolute monarchs, this woman was able to call most of Europe's heads of state her first cousins.
As WWI starts, we find this British Princess has abandoned her German first husband (her father's nephew)and married a Russian Grand Duke (her mother's nephew) Consequently she is despised by most of her relatives including her former sister-in-law the Tsarina Alexandra.
Her family situation gets worse when her sister (the Queen of Romania) leads her country into the allied camp, while her mother and other sister are still entrenched in Germany.
Its an incredible inside view as life and society in Russia turn into a slow moving train wreck; with her cousins the Tsar and Tsarina as the driving force behind the Russian train.
Meanwhile cousin Willy is driving the German train and no one can stop these forces from colliding and changing the world forever.
The author tries to portray Princess Victoria Melita as a beautiful and pivitol woman at the crossroads of history. In my opinion she is more accurately described as a minor footnote in the grand scope of European history before and after WWI.
She is the second daughter of Queen Victoria's second son Prince Alfred. To me she is interesting because she has a prime seat in which to view one of history's greatest family feuds, a little matter called World War One.
In an age when the destiny of counties was determined by absolute monarchs, this woman was able to call most of Europe's heads of state her first cousins.
As WWI starts, we find this British Princess has abandoned her German first husband (her father's nephew)and married a Russian Grand Duke (her mother's nephew) Consequently she is despised by most of her relatives including her former sister-in-law the Tsarina Alexandra.
Her family situation gets worse when her sister (the Queen of Romania) leads her country into the allied camp, while her mother and other sister are still entrenched in Germany.
Its an incredible inside view as life and society in Russia turn into a slow moving train wreck; with her cousins the Tsar and Tsarina as the driving force behind the Russian train.
Meanwhile cousin Willy is driving the German train and no one can stop these forces from colliding and changing the world forever.
December 10, 2015
This is one wretched book.
By page 40 I thought if Sullivan used the phrase "the beautiful Grand Duchess" one more time I'd scream; then he managed to use that phrase twice on ONE PAGE. All of which is made worse by the fact that I couldn't noticing "the beautiful Grand Duchess" what might be called equine features as I looked at the pictures provided of Victoria Melita. If this woman was one of the great beauties of her day then these were ugly times. More to the point, why does VM's "beauty" need to be beaten into the reader? This is a biography. Tell me about the person, otherwise make it a picture book and call it a day.
This book is riddled with factual errors - WHERE was the editor on this one? - at one point the author actually gets the century wrong. It's also contradictory, fawning and downright stupid at least once per page. Why the author felt the need to canonize Victoria Melita instead of presenting an honest portrait of a clearly complex (and selfish) woman is a mystery. Then again, it's also a mystery how this book ever found a publisher. Don't waste your time or your money.
By page 40 I thought if Sullivan used the phrase "the beautiful Grand Duchess" one more time I'd scream; then he managed to use that phrase twice on ONE PAGE. All of which is made worse by the fact that I couldn't noticing "the beautiful Grand Duchess" what might be called equine features as I looked at the pictures provided of Victoria Melita. If this woman was one of the great beauties of her day then these were ugly times. More to the point, why does VM's "beauty" need to be beaten into the reader? This is a biography. Tell me about the person, otherwise make it a picture book and call it a day.
This book is riddled with factual errors - WHERE was the editor on this one? - at one point the author actually gets the century wrong. It's also contradictory, fawning and downright stupid at least once per page. Why the author felt the need to canonize Victoria Melita instead of presenting an honest portrait of a clearly complex (and selfish) woman is a mystery. Then again, it's also a mystery how this book ever found a publisher. Don't waste your time or your money.
June 30, 2009
The author found the subject of his book, Grand Duchess Victoria "Ducky" Melita to be a little too amazing. I felt he was entirely too biased describing her life in Germany after escaping Russia as being tough and hard because they did not have carpets thrown before them as they walked. To me, it seemed a simple case of a wealthy woman still being pretty well off and complaining about it (I am being a bit harsh, I know!) He saw her as a great woman full of strength and made that quite obvious. I would like to read an unbiased book about this woman. Still, it was interesting to learn about Ducky and Kirill and their last attempts to keep the Russian monarchy alive.
August 13, 2013
I loved hearing about the areas and descriptions of a lost era and places that I've visited. Also the challenges of being born into royalty through a time when royalty was not very respected.
March 1, 2015
Really interesting book. The Romanov tragedy told from a different angle - that of Victoria Melita (Ducky) who married two of her first cousins.
November 5, 2020
Only for the writing. The author has a clear bias and does make factual mistakes.
A balanced historically accurate of the subject would be ideal so that would be the book to read, not this one.
A balanced historically accurate of the subject would be ideal so that would be the book to read, not this one.
August 3, 2019
3.5
This book took a long time to read, but it was very well written and I think a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Russian history or the Czars. It’s full of quotations and if the author is making a supposition he lets you know, and even though he doesn’t take many liberties, it often feels a bit like a novel.
I’m not a huge history buff and I have no particular interest in Russia, but the fact that I finished this book when I didn’t feel committed to reading it says a lot about the quality of writing.
This book took a long time to read, but it was very well written and I think a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Russian history or the Czars. It’s full of quotations and if the author is making a supposition he lets you know, and even though he doesn’t take many liberties, it often feels a bit like a novel.
I’m not a huge history buff and I have no particular interest in Russia, but the fact that I finished this book when I didn’t feel committed to reading it says a lot about the quality of writing.
August 5, 2021
Exhaustively, impressively researched & detailed; thoroughly engaging.
June 4, 2009
I really enjoyed this book and its picture of royal european life in the years leading up to WWI and the Russian revolution. The author managed to bring the various characters depicted in the book to life, and gave a very vivid description of what their lives were like.
June 11, 2015
If you like historical fiction this is a good one.
November 21, 2015
Pleasantly surprised to find this so readable. Usually these kinds of books are dry like gargantuan term papers. I would have liked more pictures--since there are none--but I can get those elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews