MASHKA: the unlocked secrets of an imprisoned teenage royal

by Sophia Gallegos

Around midnight on July 16, 1918 the last Tsar of Russia and his family were slaughtered in a small basement in the Ural region of Russia. Amid the upheaval of the days and weeks leading up to the massacre, the Tsar’s middle child, nineteen-year-old Maria, provides the most intriguing clues to the family’s shadowy and atrocious demise. Born into one of the wealthiest and most powerful families on the planet, Maria’s arrival was a disappointment to her parents - and an entire nation. She was not the boy, and heir, that Russia wanted and needed. When Civil War breaks out in Russia, her father is taken into custody, and the family is sent to a residential prison ruled by the vengeful Ural Soviet. Inside the Ipatiev House, the family struggles to adapt…and then to survive. Experience their mysterious final hours re-imagined through the eyes of Maria, chronicling each shattering turn with devastating honesty as she comes of age - and finds unlikely love - during a brutal war for power. Her human struggle to survive is painted in heart-rending color and adds warm flesh and blood to the imperishable legend that has encased the royal family of Russia for over a century.

Genres: Historical Fiction

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 11, 2020

Reviews

[Réal Laplaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mashka, by Sophia Gallegos, is a haunting historical narrative. Set in 1917, when the Bolshevik revolution deposed the Tzar and led the way for a Communist state, Mashka, the nickname for the Tzar's daughter, tells the story about what happened, taking the reader inside the life of her family and the ordeals they endured and suffered when the Bolsheviks forced them into exile to a remote region of Russia, where they lived in an abandoned house, under house arrest and constant guard, fearing every day for their lives, and yet still holding to a naïve optimism that someone might come along and save them. Mashka, whose actual name is Maria, is coming of age when her world is turned upside down, and despite her circumstances, she finds love with a guard, whose job is to prevent their escape, and yet, who tries to help rescue her from their inevitable fate. It's a haunting narrative because anyone who knows the history of the last Tzar of Russia, knows that their end was a terrible one; and yet, the naivety of Mashka and her siblings pulls on one's heart strings throughout the story, reminding us just how horrible war is, and that no child should have to pay the price for the mistakes of their parents. Well-written with a sophisticated language suited to the period.

[Alethea Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like Anne Frank’s story, this is the diary of a young woman detailing how her hopes and longings for a bright future take flight while she is physically held captive, prisoner to the stormy events of Europe at war. Under the watch of Bolshevik soldiers, Grand Duchess Maria is reduced to washing her family’s tattered laundry after they have lost almost everything to the Revolution. The events leading to the murder of the entire Romanov family are historical fact and Maria’s ultimate fate is as certain as Anne’s. But still the reader is swept up in the daily events in the life of the doomed heroine, one who resembles any other young woman who has let her feelings free and fallen in love.

[Michael Regal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fresh take on a royal family drama shrouded in secrecy with implications that stand the test of time. If you’ve ever marveled at the blunders that paved the way for modern Soviet oppression then you’ve got to read this new perspective. Evidently, the royal family of Russia had painted themselves so deep into a corner that no amount of wealth and privilege could save them. Only the optimism of heedless youth could dare to challenge the villains of this story - Maria as the main character brings the reader into her perspective and the up-close view is even more tragic then widely known. Walking beside her on her family’s last march into history is a totally unique reading experience. This book will appeal to lovers of history, romance and coming-of-age stories but also those who savor irony and unforgettable characters. The prose is of the highest quality and the research is impeccable. I highly recommend it!

[Elaine Milks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mashka by Sophia Gallegos 5 stars
A historical novel about the last Tzar of Russia, Nicholas II and Alexandra, Emperor and Empress of Russia and their children. It is a story of what might have happened to the family during the Revolution to overthrow the Royals. The end of the book tells the fate of the family. It was a terrible time of political upheaval in Russia. The story is gripping and hopeful, but not fact. No one knows the real truth of the family trials and tribulations during the revolution. There are some facts know from writings found and they are included throughout. Very interesting read.

[Dr Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of a teenage girl - and a lost princess

The tragic story of the four Romanov girls, the daughters of the last Tsar, Nicholas II would seem to be a familiar one but the author finds a fresh angle here. She concentrates on one, the rebellious Maria who risks alienating her family in her persuit of love and freedom, not only from captivity but from the course her birth and family have set her on.
Highly recommended.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this story that put a few things together that I read in the last book about the Romanov's, particularly the officer's letters when they were in Ipatiev House. This was interesting to read about Maria as the least favorite of her mom's children. The ending is always the same: tragedy, but the details and story are always enthralling.

[Maëva :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cette revue ne correspond pas à ce livre mais au livre "Mashka" écrit par Laëtitia Reynders noté 4,5/5

[joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophia Gallegos did her home work, well written and well researched. Truly enjoyed reading this for
its ability to pull the reader in and make them feel like they were right there with the young princess.
This was one of the most horrendous murders of WWI and the Russian up rising and sadly could have been avoided had the Zar surrounded himself with honest and loyal men. But like so many leaders of countries, people of ambitions of their own don't make good advisers.