The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & The Fall of Imperial Russia

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion,& The Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

My major reading flaw is that I hold no interest in reading history.

None.

If it's historical fiction, I tend to be more interested in it as it's usually some tweak or interpretation of events.

There are some notable exceptions, like Amelia Lost and Babe Conquers the World, but for the most part I just shirk it. I usually find the reading to be excessively dull and I want to roll my eyes at it for an uncomfortable length of time.

Much like most adult fiction.....AHEM, anyways.

An amazon summary with random reviews by other book publishers that amazon seemed to really want to be included, "Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs—at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using captivating photos and compelling first person accounts, award-winning author Candace Fleming (Amelia Lost; The Lincolns) deftly maneuvers between the imperial family’s extravagant lives and the plight of Russia's poor masses, making this an utterly mesmerizing read as well as a perfect resource for meeting Common Core standards.

“[A] superb history.... In these thrilling, highly readable pages, we meet Rasputin, the shaggy, lecherous mystic...; we visit the gilded ballrooms of the doomed aristocracy; and we pause in the sickroom of little Alexei, the hemophiliac heir who, with his parents and four sisters, would be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.” —The Wall Street Journal

"An exhilarating narrative history of a doomed and clueless family and empire." —Jim Murphy, author of Newbery Honor Books An American Plague and The Great Fire
"For readers who regard history as dull, Fleming’s extraordinary book is proof positive that, on the contrary, it is endlessly fascinating, absorbing as any novel, and the stuff of an altogether memorable reading experience." —Booklist, Starred

"Marrying the intimate family portrait of Heiligman’s Charles and Emma with the politics and intrigue of Sheinkin’s Bomb, Fleming has outdone herself with this riveting work of narrative nonfiction that appeals to the imagination as much as the intellect." —The Horn Book, Starred" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

,....that took most of forever to get through. Like history. OOOOOOOhhhh....yeah I'll just talk about books now.

There also isn't a whole lot of summary I should give for this book, because, well, it's history. Hyuck.... ....

SO.

The neat thing about this book is that it shows the family Romanov from more than one point of view. It illustrates what was happening within the family alongside major world events.

Throughout the story there's not only the account of what's happening in third person, but also letters from peasants, the family, etc; whoever is most relevant to the story.

It shows the climate leading up to the last Tsar and explains much of Nicholas' upbringing while also leading to the downfall and eventual death of the Romanov family.

It's pretty fantastic. I feel much more educated on Russian history than before while also feeling as if I read a book rather than a textbook.

So a history book I can stand? OR a history textbook that reads like a fictional book. But it's not a textbook as far as I know. Russia noises!

....IT WAS GOOD. VERY GOOD.

I absolutely adored reading this book; it was one I struggled to leave alone.

Happy reading!