Olga Romanov: Russia's Last Grand Duchess

by Patricia Phenix

Olga Romanov lived a life full of romance and danger. Born into the doomed Romanov family in the late 19th century, she barely escaped the Bolshevik Revolution with her life. Never before seen letters and diary entries from Russian archives and family members cast new light on her daring escape across the Crimea, and reveal details of her miserable first marriage and subsequent love affair with the handsome officer who would become her second husband. A true tale of riches to rags, Olga lived on the proceeds of a spectacular cache of Faberge jewels smuggled out of Russia, eventually dying in relative poverty above a hair salon in a run down neighborhood of Toronto. With photographs from surviving descendents and quotes from Olga's own letters, this book brings one of the most illustrious and well-loved figures of Russia's grand imperial court to life.

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

306 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 1999

Reviews

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - English Ebook

Olga Romanov lived a life full of romance and danger. Born into the doomed Romanov family in the late 19th century, she barely escaped the Bolshevik Revolution with her life. Never before seen letters and diary entries from Russian archives and family members cast new light on her daring escape across the Crimea, and reveal details of her miserable first marriage and subsequent love affair with the handsome officer who would become her second husband.

A true tale of riches to rags, Olga lived on the proceeds of a spectacular cache of Faberge jewels smuggled out of Russia, eventually dying in relative poverty above a hair salon in a run down neighborhood of Toronto. With photographs from surviving descendents and quotes from Olga's own letters, this book brings one of the most illustrious and well-loved figures of Russia's grand imperial court to life.

A fascinating woman. I enjoyed the book; only wished it had included at least some of her paintings ... painting was a big part of her life.

The mix of telling, photo's and quote's of Olga's letters this was an interesting read.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that are rather simplistic in their approach to the subject matter and thus quite easily and quickly readable. It does provide the basics on Olga Alexandrovna and even provides some little-known anecdotes from her life (that I have not yet read anywhere else), but given casual errors and mistakes scattered throughout the text I was a little apprehensive about their validity. Where the book really gives you something new and interesting are the last few chapters, which deal with Olga´s later life and especially behaviour of her sons and other family members. Those parts truly made me sad.

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg she deserved so much better ☹️

[Helen Azar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read some of the more negative reviews of this book in the past I didn't expect to like it, but I rather did. I thought it gave a fairly balanced portrait of the grand duchess, the positive and the negative traits - hence the whole person... as well as of her sons, their wives, grandchildren and others in her family circle. I would have preferred there was less about Anna Anderson (whose photo they even included in the book), but on the whole, I enjoyed this book and even learned a few new things.

[Angie and the Daily Book Dose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exceptionally scholarly, but a very pleasant read about the younger sister of Czar Nicholas II.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading the biography of Olga Romanov, the youngest sister of the last Russian Tsar. While it is a fascinating story, because she ended her days above a storefront on Gerard Street in Toronto, the biography sadly doesn’t do her life justice. Too often the author’s florid prose interferes with Olga’s incredible life. However, it is an easy and quick read for anyone curious about the last Grand Duchess of Russia.

[Yunalesca Harley Romanov Renaldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing account of H.i.H Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna daughter of Empress Maria Feodorovna (Princess Dagmar Of Denmark) and Tsar Alexander III a must read

[Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful engaging story of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sort of a fan of all things Russian, especially all things Imperial Russia, so it was no great leap for me to read this book. It concerns Olga Romanova, the sister (not the similarly named daughter) of the infamous Tsar Nicholas II. I must admit it was pretty fascinating to read about a historical character so oft overlooked in Imperial Russia's final days, especially as it connected to my homeland of Canada, as Olga Romanova spent her final years there. It's pretty well researched though a few errors (Romanov used instead of Romanova etc.) but nothing too concerning.

Why the slightly lower rating then? Well, I hate to be a sourpuss, but I'm a little tired of how the entire Romanov family is so martyred in every portrayal, non-fic or otherwise. Oh! The Horror! Olga had to live like commonfolk! You know, like the rest of us! I know, I know, comes with the territory of talking about Imperial Russia, I know, I know, my socialist views are showing, I know, I know why should I really expect anything else from a book about the Romanovs? But still, it could help to be a little less biased.

Also--and while I do realize this is nitpicking for a non-fic book--some of the creative phrases the author used to convey information were a little overdone and monotonous. Yes, non-fic but you are nevertheless telling a story to the general public.

So yeah, some problems but if you're looking for a rather unique view of the final years of the Romanov dynasty then this is a fairly engaging read.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Kind of dry and didn't focus on her involvement with the royal family like I wish it did. It is unfortunate how the people within the royal family were unable to sustain themselves however because they weren't taught to survive and cannot take certain work because they see it as beneath them because of their royal blood. That is something I don't think about and was curious to read about here.