Julia P. Gelardi

This book follows the intertwining lives and the political environment of the five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters who were reigning consorts: Marie of Romania whose affairs scandalised Europe, Maude who hated Norway and wanted to live in England, Alexandra who was killed along with her family in the Russian revolution and the luckier Sophie of Greece and Victoria Eugenie of Spain both of whom were exiled from the lands they ruled due to political unrest. I had always known how show more interrelated (and inbred) the European royal families were, however reading this book gave fresh insight into the family quarrels that were inherently political. Even with the best known of these women, Alexandra, Gelardi was able to reveal her life and her motivations beyond the standard reading. (Why is it, I wonder, that no-one writing about the Russian Revolution ever thinks to mention that Nicolas and Alexandra were a love match and courted for years? Ah, of course, that's an unimportant 'feminine' detail, why would we need to know that?) In any case, this book is filled with similarly well researched and documented facts about these women and how their lives impacted European history. Well worth the read. show less

If it wasn't for the fact that this book was very entertaining to read and I finished it in no time, I'd say that this was someone's doctoral dissertation. How long did it take this author to collect such a massive amount of research? It's mindblowing! With so much research, Gelardi weaves intertwining tales of 5 first cousins, descents of Queen Victoria, and women who became reigning Queens throughout Europe by using the very words of the women themselves. There were times I felt like I was show more reading these women's diaries, their identities just leapt right off the page. I look forward to other books in the future by Julia Gelardi. show less

This was an enjoyable read about three sets of mothers and daughters who sat on European thrones. Isabella of Castile and Catherine of Aragon are the first profiled. We read of Isabella's iconic reign and her daughter's equally iconic downfall as Queen of England. Next comes Maria Theresa of Austria and Marie Antoinette of France. Here again, we see a daughter's reign eclipsed by the brilliancy of her mother's. And finally, we see Queen Victoria of England and her daughter the Empress show more Frederick of Germany. Victoria's reign proved to be nothing short of monumental while her daughter's time on the throne is just a footnote in history. All told, the three daughters we read about never achieved the success that their mothers did.

Extremely interesting reading for anyone interested in European royal history. show less

Covering the years 1847 to 1928, From Splendor to Revolution chronicles the grand but difficult lives of four women who were born or married into the Romanov dynasty: an empress, a grand duchess, a queen and a duchess, each a generation older than Russia’s final tsar, Nicolas II. By this time England’s monarchy was constitutional, and Queen Victoria’s political power came from her cunning, and her skill at marrying her children and grandchildren into strategically important European show more royal families. Russia, however, was still ruled by tsars who believed their autocracy and duty to serve were divinely commissioned. The royal family lived in unimaginable grandeur before the Russian revolution, but even in those high times political unrest meant they had to cope with well-founded fears of death and mutilation, and the shockingly brutal murders of some of their dearest family members.

Marie Feodorovna, or Minnie, was the last tsar’s mother. Originally a Danish princess she married and moved to Russia at 18 where her engaging personality helped make her popular with the people, and she became the empress only fifteen years later when her father-in-law Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Minnie was a voice of reason when her son and daughter-in-law were under the destructive spell of Rasputin, but later she could never bring herself to believe that Tsar Nicolas II had been murdered along with his wife and children, even though she lived a decade after their deaths.

Marie Pavlovna, or Miechen, was Minnie’s sister-in-law, married to her husband’s brother Vladimir, and Miechen was a highly skilled, savvy and ambitious socialite. Pious and sweet Olga, who became the Queen of Greece, was the daughter of Alexander II’s brother Constantine. Marie Alexandrovna was the sister of Alexander III, and so the sister-in-law of Minnie and Miechen. After the early death of her sister, Marie Alexandrovna was the only surviving daughter of Alexandra II, and was so beloved and spoiled by him that she might never have been persuaded to leave her father’s side if he hadn’t angered the family by taking a mistress, who he eventually moved into the palace with their born out of wedlock children. As a means of escape, Marie Alexandrovna married Queen Victoria’s wayward son Alfred, brother of King Edward, and through him became the German Duchess of Coburn.

The text of From Splendor to Revolution has been copiously, even distractingly, footnoted throughout the book, but that means you can check the original sources when you find something particularly fascinating, something that happened to me a lot. This book will be well loved by most anyone interested in the Romanov family. show less