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Amintirile unei prințese rebele din familia Romanov
Olga Romanoff, nepoată colaterală a ţarului Nicolae II, ne spune, în această carte de memorii, fascinanta poveste a unei prințese a cărei familie a reușit să scape din mâinile bolșevicilor. Copilăria ocrotită din labirintica Provender House, în Anglia profundă, educația atipică oferită de o mamă severă și snoabă, cu origini scoțiene și scandinave, și un tată mai relaxat și indulgent, a cărui ocupație înscrisă pe certificatul de naștere al Olgăi era cea de „prinț al Rusiei“, viața în natură, caii, legendele familiei, bijuteriile și mobilele care mai amintesc o vreme, până a fi vândute, splendoarea vieții de odinioară, toate sunt relatate cu umor, cu realism și într-un mod foarte personal.
„Memoriile prințesei Olga Romanoff sunt o lectură extraordinară... O carte foarte antrenantă, care ne oferă o mulțime de surprize.“ — Mayfair Times
„Memoriile prințesei Olga Romanoff sunt o lectură extraordinară... O carte foarte antrenantă, care ne oferă o mulțime de surprize.“ — Mayfair Times
252 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 5, 2021
I don't recall what got me started reading this book...I think that I read something that claimed Olga had been considered a suitable match for HRH Prince Charles, and since the local library had a copy of the book on hand I decided to give Olga a toss.
She starts out with a brief history of the Romanoff family, and explains how her branch of the Family managed to escape Russia and thereby avoid the murders that claimed the lives of the Tsar and his immediate family. The bulk of the narrative, however, is taken up with details of her life as an exiled Royal in England.
HH Princess Olga seems pretty down-to-earth, but still had a privileged upbringing. Private schools, debutante affairs, big balls. Apparently HH likes to handle big balls to this day, which is to say she manages them and organizes them. Her story covers her eccentric parents and gives a surprisingly frank insight into the home lives of the great and the good. For example, she mentions horses being in the house...not stabled, but being brought in for one thing or another, and she mentions changing her baby's diaper on the table where her father was having breakfast. I don't know how she figures she was wild, as she claims she was able to hang on to her maidenhead until age 20...no, she doesn't mention who got the royal cherry.
Olga has the royals' love of dogs and horses and says that she believes in the Loch Ness monster and is absolutely convinced of the existence of ghosts. She even claims with a straight face to have seen a gnome once. I would love to know what she was imbibing before that gnome sighting!
Her Highness carries on at length about her parents, her children, and her animals but details of her courtship and marriage are uncharacteristically sparse. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that hubby is no longer in the picture. Understandably, perhaps, in view of the gnome sighting.
Western readers will have to be prepared to deal with English terms, like "electric fire" for heater and "getting a leg over" refers to sex in some obscure way, but it's relatively easy to get past that. HH has an earthy way of relaying information, maybe a bit too earthy, referring to "skid marks" in the toilet....thereby shattering my belief that royals pooped Faberge eggs. I can't imagine any English Royal Family member admitting to bathroom functions like mere mortals. Oh, and she mentions finding crotchless undies belonging, I believe, to granny; so designed that the royal bladder could be relieved while standing at the rail during the races. Of course, skirts in those days would brush the grass.
The last couple of chapters outline the princess's struggles to restore her 30 room mansion. I can sympathize, here in my crumbling bungalow, and wish her all the best with it. I think that HH Olga is a top Sheila, as they say in Australia. She's around my age and I think she wouldn't be above hoisting a pint with a commoner like myself. Very approachable, I would guess, and she has turned out what is surprisingly quite an interesting human interest story.
She starts out with a brief history of the Romanoff family, and explains how her branch of the Family managed to escape Russia and thereby avoid the murders that claimed the lives of the Tsar and his immediate family. The bulk of the narrative, however, is taken up with details of her life as an exiled Royal in England.
HH Princess Olga seems pretty down-to-earth, but still had a privileged upbringing. Private schools, debutante affairs, big balls. Apparently HH likes to handle big balls to this day, which is to say she manages them and organizes them. Her story covers her eccentric parents and gives a surprisingly frank insight into the home lives of the great and the good. For example, she mentions horses being in the house...not stabled, but being brought in for one thing or another, and she mentions changing her baby's diaper on the table where her father was having breakfast. I don't know how she figures she was wild, as she claims she was able to hang on to her maidenhead until age 20...no, she doesn't mention who got the royal cherry.
Olga has the royals' love of dogs and horses and says that she believes in the Loch Ness monster and is absolutely convinced of the existence of ghosts. She even claims with a straight face to have seen a gnome once. I would love to know what she was imbibing before that gnome sighting!
Her Highness carries on at length about her parents, her children, and her animals but details of her courtship and marriage are uncharacteristically sparse. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that hubby is no longer in the picture. Understandably, perhaps, in view of the gnome sighting.
Western readers will have to be prepared to deal with English terms, like "electric fire" for heater and "getting a leg over" refers to sex in some obscure way, but it's relatively easy to get past that. HH has an earthy way of relaying information, maybe a bit too earthy, referring to "skid marks" in the toilet....thereby shattering my belief that royals pooped Faberge eggs. I can't imagine any English Royal Family member admitting to bathroom functions like mere mortals. Oh, and she mentions finding crotchless undies belonging, I believe, to granny; so designed that the royal bladder could be relieved while standing at the rail during the races. Of course, skirts in those days would brush the grass.
The last couple of chapters outline the princess's struggles to restore her 30 room mansion. I can sympathize, here in my crumbling bungalow, and wish her all the best with it. I think that HH Olga is a top Sheila, as they say in Australia. She's around my age and I think she wouldn't be above hoisting a pint with a commoner like myself. Very approachable, I would guess, and she has turned out what is surprisingly quite an interesting human interest story.
August 28, 2018
I was lucky enough to read a review copy before publication on 10th October 2017.
There are many books on Romanov history, but this book is unique as it is written by the daughter of Prince Andrei Romanov, eldest nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, born in the Winter Palace in tsarist Russia in 1897. Princess Olga is his youngest daughter by his second wife. Princess Olga was born in England in 1950.
She recounts many fascinating stories passed down by her father, most of which have never been told before, and is likely to stir up some debates around some controversial events still very much alive today.
She also tells about her own 'wacky' childhood, brought up by an indulgent Romanov father and a strict and snobbish mother of Scottish and Scandinavian descent.
The book is a humorous and light hearted read accessible to all and will delight not only those who are fascinated by Romanov history, but also those who enjoy some gossip within royal and aristocratic circles.
There are many books on Romanov history, but this book is unique as it is written by the daughter of Prince Andrei Romanov, eldest nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, born in the Winter Palace in tsarist Russia in 1897. Princess Olga is his youngest daughter by his second wife. Princess Olga was born in England in 1950.
She recounts many fascinating stories passed down by her father, most of which have never been told before, and is likely to stir up some debates around some controversial events still very much alive today.
She also tells about her own 'wacky' childhood, brought up by an indulgent Romanov father and a strict and snobbish mother of Scottish and Scandinavian descent.
The book is a humorous and light hearted read accessible to all and will delight not only those who are fascinated by Romanov history, but also those who enjoy some gossip within royal and aristocratic circles.
Read
August 13, 2018What a delightful and captivating book! Princess Olga is the daughter of the last Tsar’s eldest nephew, she’s just four years older than me. On her mother’s side she is Scottish-Finnish with a Finnish greatgrandfather. By page two I got muddled with who’s related to whom and how on her father’s side, but that didn’t bother me much. Told by an insider the stories and snippets in this book make so much more interesting reading than any history book. Like zigzaggging through time.
November 19, 2019
I enjoyed reading this book, it was easy to read and of course very interesting. A chance to touch history and see that it does not end as we are often taught at school. Romanovs did not disappear with the death of Nikolai II and his family.
It was not easy at first to understand who was who, but at the same time I found it very interesting and tried to memorize the names. Olga's childhood was very interesting to read about, later years were not so detailed, however, simply and well written!
It was not easy at first to understand who was who, but at the same time I found it very interesting and tried to memorize the names. Olga's childhood was very interesting to read about, later years were not so detailed, however, simply and well written!
January 17, 2018
This was a cosy read. A bit too cosy. And I expected more somehow. The notorious Romanovs are a fascinating part of history, and I would have liked to have heard more about their dark secrets. Perhaps there will be a book 2.
May 6, 2021
Bineînţeles că viaţa tatei în Rusia fusese complet diferită de a mea. Se născuse şi crescuse într‑un palat. Înainte să se stabilească în Anglia, supravieţuise deja ameninţării unui pluton de execuţie bolşevic. Atât el, cât şi familia sa fuseseră norocoşi că reuşiseră să scape cu viaţă din Rusia. Bunicul meu patern a fost marele duce Aleksandr Mihailovici, căruia i se spunea „Sandro“. S‑a căsătorit cu marea ducesă Ksenia Aleksandrovna, fiica lui Alexandru III şi a soţiei sale de origine daneză, Dagmar, care a devenit împărăteasa Maria Feodorovna. Alexandru şi Dagmar au avut şase copii: Nicolae II (Nikolai), Aleksandr, mort în fragedă pruncie, Gheorghi, care a murit de tuberculoză în 1899, Ksenia, bunica mea, Mihail şi Olga. Sandro era nepotul lui Nicolae I, iar Ksenia strănepoata acestuia. Cei doi soţi erau, aşadar, veri primari din două generaţii diferite. După ce a scăpat din Crimeea şi s‑a stabilit în Franţa, Sandro a scris două cărţi de foarte mare succes despre viaţa pe care o dusese în Rusia, Once a Grand Duke ( Am fost odată mare duce) şi Always a Grand Duke (Mare duce pentru totdeauna). Ksenia şi Sandro s‑au căsătorit în 1894. Mătuşa ei, prinţesa de Wales – mai târziu, regina Alexandra a Marii Britanii – a venit, cu ocazia nunţii, la Sankt‑Petersburg, iar regina Victoria le‑a trimis un dar. Fiecare invitat a primit ca amintire o punguţă brodată cu monograma cuplului, închisă cu un şiret şi plină cu migdale franţuzeşti. Mai târziu, în acelaşi an, tatăl Kseniei, ţarul Alexandru III, a murit, iar fratele ei, Nicolae, a devenit marele ţar. Cel căruia în copilărie i se spunea „Nicky“ avea să cunoască îngrozitorul destin care îi aştepta atât pe el, cât şi întreaga lui familie. Până la treizeci de ani, bunica a avut şapte copii. Bunicul a asistat la toate naşterile, un lucru neobişnuit pentru acele timpuri. Era un bărbat nemaipomenit, cu vederi înaintate. După revoluţie, până şi sovieticii au avut, pare‑se, o părere bună despre el. Înfiinţase Forţele Aeriene Ruse, a fost amiralul flotei, ministrul marinei comerciale şi chiar a iniţiat la Paris un club pentru aviatori. Şi tot aşa – Sandro le‑a făcut pe toate. Primul lor copil a fost Irina, mătuşa mea Titti, o mare frumuseţe care, la optsprezece ani, s‑a căsătorit cu prinţul Feliks Iusupov – ajuns, mai târziu, unul dintre asasinii lui Rasputin. Ksenia a adus pe lume câte un prunc la fiecare optsprezece sau douăzeci de luni. În afara Irinei, toţi ceilalţi au fost băieţi – Andrei, tatăl meu, urmat de Feodor, Nikita, Dmitri, Rostislav şi Vasili. (…)
June 23, 2023
Firstly, it astonishes me that the too-posh-to-wash crowd can't be bothered to educate their children.
Olga spent less than a year in a classroom and then in a "finishing school" qualified only to marry a rich, titled man because this is still the 19th century. Olga writes like a 12 year-old with ADHD. You could cut each paragraph out, toss them into the air, and reassemble them and the book wouldn't be any less coherent. Coryne Hall certainly had her work cut out for her; I can't imagine this book without her.
That said, it's an entertaining read. It helps to have a working knowledge of the Romanov family, as she does name-drop. The juicy bit where she is vetted as a bride for Prince Charles? A paragraph or two, and she is maddeningly vague, but that's par when you deal with the royal family.
Olga's mother comes across as a fearful snob, reminding me that the Queen was always gracious, never rude. You know who else was a prickly, horrible person? That Simpson Woman. Funny how the most insecure people are the most insistent on being treated "like royalty." At one point, Mother loses out on getting the house a Grade I listing because she wouldn't let the assessors in the front door because they were "trade." Appallingly stupid and short-sighted.
I'd rather spend time with people who take advantage of opportunities to read, study, and enjoy the fine arts. And that is not the upper classes, apparently. But hey, maybe they exist and they haven't written the trashy books I love.
Olga spent less than a year in a classroom and then in a "finishing school" qualified only to marry a rich, titled man because this is still the 19th century. Olga writes like a 12 year-old with ADHD. You could cut each paragraph out, toss them into the air, and reassemble them and the book wouldn't be any less coherent. Coryne Hall certainly had her work cut out for her; I can't imagine this book without her.
That said, it's an entertaining read. It helps to have a working knowledge of the Romanov family, as she does name-drop. The juicy bit where she is vetted as a bride for Prince Charles? A paragraph or two, and she is maddeningly vague, but that's par when you deal with the royal family.
Olga's mother comes across as a fearful snob, reminding me that the Queen was always gracious, never rude. You know who else was a prickly, horrible person? That Simpson Woman. Funny how the most insecure people are the most insistent on being treated "like royalty." At one point, Mother loses out on getting the house a Grade I listing because she wouldn't let the assessors in the front door because they were "trade." Appallingly stupid and short-sighted.
I'd rather spend time with people who take advantage of opportunities to read, study, and enjoy the fine arts. And that is not the upper classes, apparently. But hey, maybe they exist and they haven't written the trashy books I love.
June 12, 2020
Boken känns lite barnsligt skriven, men ger ändå en intressant inblick i hennes liv, och en tid som var väldigt speciell. Dock saknar jag mera inblick i hennes privatliv efter att hon själv bildat familj. Att hon bara vagt nämner sina barn och man känns för mig lite konstigt, det skulle ha gett boken ett annat djup.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews