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Summary
Summary
The unknown story of the last Tsar of Russia set against backdrop of wealth, love, sex, royalty, war, revolution and murder. The relationship and subsequent marriage of Michael and Natasha was one of Greatest scandals in Russian History. It lead to Michael's disgrace, humiliation and banishment. Michael and Natasha is the first full account of this magnificent love story. But it is also more than that : It charts the decline of the last age of elegance and provides a fascinating insight into the daysleading up to the Russian Revolution. This is an outstanding romance, a Royal scandal and a compelling historical drama with a supremely tragic ending.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A beautiful Russian divorcée creates a scandal by marrying a dashing but ineffectual nobleman. Passion, despair, murder and, finally, war converge to ravage Mother Russia and doom the love affair. The elements of a classic Russian novel are put into play in this recounting of the marriage of Nathalie Brasova and Michael Aleksandrovich, the man who became the last emperor of czarist Russiaas Michael II, he technically ruled for part of one day after his brother Nicholas II abdicated in 1917. Their story is pieced together mostly through contemporary love letters and family correspondence, which show the pair to be heroically romantic and consistently neurotic. When Michael writes, "It isn't possible to love more than we love each other," Natasha tortures him with a never-ending stream of insecurities: "I... was always content with the crumbs which you gave me of your time and splendour." The Romanov family vehemently opposed Michael's marriage to a nonroyal and was bent on making life miserable for the couple. This thoroughly researched work contains enough intimate details to satisfy the romantic, enough hard facts to please the casual historian. The authors, a husband and wife, are British freelance journalists. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Although it may come as a surprise to many, Nicholas II was technically not the last of the Romanov czars. After Nicholas was forced to abdicate in 1917, his younger brother Michael was proclaimed emperor, reigning briefly amid the revolutionary chaos until he was summarily executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Largely overlooked by historians because of a lack of primary sources, Michael's fascinating story has been reconstructed by journalists Rosemary and Donald Crawford. Utilizing Michael's private diary and hundreds of intimate letters recently released from the Russian state archives, the Crawfords have pieced together the dramatic tale of a privileged aristocrat who risked disinheritance to marry the woman he loved. Despite his family's threats and objections, Michael eloped with the beautiful, twice-divorced commoner Nathalie Wulfert in 1912, legitimizing an ardent five-year affair that had produced a son and scandalized the imperial Russian court. Utterly devoted to one another, Michael and Natasha were destined to enjoy only a brief interlude of marital happiness before politics and tragedy cruelly intervened. --Margaret Flanagan
Library Journal Review
In 1908 in prerevolutionary Russia, the czar's brother Grand Duke Michael fell in love with married commoner Natasha Wulfert. If fate had been kinder, they might have been the first in a line of Romanov constitutional monarchs. Instead, Michael spent ten years battling for acceptance of their marriage and working to convince the czar that his repressive policies were driving the country to revolution. The subtitle calls Michael "the last of the Romanov Tsars," a title usually reserved for his brother Nicholas II. Technically, Michael was the last, simply because Nicholas abdicated in his favor shortly before both were murdered in 1918. This book is not only history but the tragic love story of a couple trying to be together and still fulfill their obligations to the country they loved. The authors, both journalists, have crafted a compelling, well-researched account of an aspect of Russian history not widely known. Highly recommended.Katharine Garstka, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.