nanshe-of-nina: Favorite History Books || From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847-1928
nanshe-of-nina: Favorite History Books || From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847-1928 by Julia P. Gelardi ★★★☆☆ What must have it been like for this Danish princess who, as an eighteen-year-old, left her family and journeyed to Russia in 1866 as the Tsarevich Alexander’s bride? No doubt, Princess Dagmar, who took the name Marie Feodorovna upon embracing Russia’s Orthodox faith, was full of excitement and trepidation at what the future held. In the ensuing years, Marie Feodorovna, as a member of the Romanov dynasty, would come to experience the full panoply of what life had to offer. Great happiness and heart-wrenching tragedies would come her way. As I pondered the empress’s life, I could not help but also reflect on a less famous historical figure whose life story was just as steeped in drama. This individual, another Romanov, was Queen Olga of Greece, who also happened to be Marie Feodorovna’s sister-in-law. On further reflection, I came to the conclusion that two other women—contemporaries of Marie Feodorovna and Olga Constantinovna—had equally compelling life stories that were worth telling in tandem with those of the Russian empress and Greek queen. And so, I embarked on my latest literary endeavor, the end result of which I wish to share with you, the reader. It is a journey to imperial Russia—a journey that will take us from the splendors of the Russian imperial court of the nineteenth century to the tragic days of World War I, the Russian Revolution and the decade that followed. We will also delve into the tumultuous history of nineteenth and early twentieth century Greece, but this work will largely focus on imperial Russia and the Romanovs.Despite the massive body of literature on the Romanovs—a reflection of the intense interest in and profound impact on history of this famous family—missing still in the dynasty’s tales of triumph and tragedy is the collective story, as witnessed by four Romanov matriarchs, of imperial Russia’s inexorable march toward catastrophe and the destruction of this old world.In order to redress this gap, I present in the following pages, the stories of this special group of Romanov women in one volume, focusing on the years 1847 to 1928. I chose that interval because it is the life span of the longest living of the four, Empress Marie Feodorovna (1847–1928), consort of Emperor Alexander III. Her story is accompanied by that of another consort, Queen Olga (1851–1926), wife of King George I of the Hellenes, a brother of Marie Feodorovna. My third protagonist is the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna (1853–1920), Emperor Alexander III’s sister and a daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria through her son, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who later reigned over not an empire or a kingdom, but a duchy within Germany, that of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The fourth protagonist, the Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna (1854–1920), the wife of Alexander III’s brother, the Grand Duke Vladimir, did not grace a throne. Instead, she dominated St. Petersburg society, appropriating this important position, a role that normally belonged to the empress or tsarina. -- source link