The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra

Summary (from the publishers): They were the Princess Dianas of their day—perhaps the most photographed and talked about young royals of the early twentieth century. The four captivating Russian Grand Duchesses—Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Romanov—were much admired for their happy dispositions, their looks, the clothes they wore and their privileged lifestyle.

Over the years, the story of the four Romanov sisters and their tragic end in a basement at Ekaterinburg in 1918 has clouded our view of them, leading to a mass of sentimental and idealized hagiography. With this treasure trove of diaries and letters from the grand duchesses to their friends and family, we learn that they were intelligent, sensitive and perceptive witnesses to the dark turmoil within their immediate family and the ominous approach of the Russian Revolution, the nightmare that would sweep their world away, and them along with it.

The Romanov Sisters sets out to capture the joy as well as the insecurities and poignancy of those young lives against the backdrop of the dying days of late Imperial Russia, World War I and the Russian Revolution. Rappaport aims to present a new and challenging take on the story, drawing extensively on previously unseen or unpublished letters, diaries and archival sources, as well as private collections. It is a book that will surprise people, even aficionados.

Review: I won a copy of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.

It's fitting to read this book in the wake of Victoria's Daughters, since it details the great-granddaughters of Queen Victoria: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. The Romanov sisters were the four daughters born to Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov. Their father Nicholas II was the last Russian Tsar, and his wife was the daughter of Princess Alice (daughter of Queen Victoria) and Prince Louis, the Grand Duke of Hesse. The girls were born into a life of luxury and royalty. Olga, the oldest, was introduced to her great-grandmother Victoria, who apparently was "charmed by the chubby and happy ten-month-old Olga" who proclaimed her "magnificent" (40).

Although the girls were much loved by their parents, the birth of four consecutive daughters caused much despair to both parents as well as the nation, which demanded the birth of a son and heir to the Russian throne. Finally, after four daughters, Alexandra give birth to the much awaited son Alexey, although the family's joy was quickly over-shadowed by the prompt discovery that he suffered from the blood disorder, hemophilia, that had plagued European royal families for several generations, thanks to their habit of marrying cousins. "Bleeding had in fact occurred almost as soon as the umbilical cord was cut, and it had taken two days for the doctors to bring it under control" (79).

The family led a very sheltered and reclusive life. Early on, this seemed to be because Alexandra and her beloved Nicky were so madly in love they resented any intrusions on their time together. This was complained about frequently in the press and among the Russian court. Even Queen Victoria was concerned by her granddaughter's self-imposed isolation, writing "As to what you say about Alix & Nicky seeing so few people...I think she quite knows how important it is she should get to know more of the society but the truth is she & Nicky are so absolutely happy together that they do not like to have to give up their evenings to receiving people" (47). Both parents doted on their children, and their avoidance of society did mean that they spent far more time together as a family; "they began to say at court that the empress was not a tsaritsa but only a mother" (53).

Although the girls benefitted by a close relationship with their parents that was largely unheard of at the time for royal and privileged children, they suffered socially. The children knew almost no children their own age, and rarely saw other children other than occasional visits with cousins over the years. As a consequence, most of their friends were the adults that worked for the royal family. Another poor consequence was that the family was "completely out of touch with who was who in fashionable society," noted by Nicholas's aunt who commented on the girls' debut in society writing, "As the girls know nobody in society, they simply hopped about like provincial demoiselles without anybody being presented to them and they were never made to talk with any of the ladies young or old" (209). 

Rappaport does a fairly decent job of trying to capture the differences in personalities between the four girls, who have always been lumped together both during their lifetime and afterwards. However, I think in some ways this book is more a biography of the family than just the daughters, since it is the family dynamics that are central to the book - and for all four girls each other, their parents, and their younger brother was their whole world.

I never knew how devoted the older two girls were to nursing during World War I - not in name only but assisting in serious surgeries including amputations and putting in long hours every day. I also had no knowledge of the poor health of the tsaritsa or how hard all the girls worked to keep the family spirits high during their captivity, when they were reduced to gardening and amusing themselves under dull, cramped, and strict circumstances.

I found the downfall of the Romanovs remarkably sad. They were a victim of the changing political climate. Although I suspect that Rappaport has been very one-sided in the portrayal of Nicholas as Tsar, at heart the family seem like they were introverted and loyal Russians who delighted in one another's company to the detriment of their political duties. I found it heartbreaking that none of the girls were ever able to marry or have families and that their lives were so narrow and limited in nearly every way - educationally, geographically, socially. Perhaps the only consolation is that they died as they lived - together, as a family.

Stars: 4