A Romanov Autumn : Stories from the Last Century of Imperial Russia is a 2000 book written by Charlotte Zeepvat.
This book travels through all the characters of the Romanov Family. They range is from Nicholas I & Alexandra Feodorvna (Charlotte of Prussia) to the last tsarevich, Alexei. The book tells us about the decline of the Russian monarchy in all of its forms. We have points of view on what could have been the "reformation" of Russia from such people as : Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse), and Grand Duke Constantine Nikolayevtich. The book mainly focuses on the women of the Romanov family and not just the tsarinas, there are quite a few chapters on Grand Duchesses. The book explains the women's problem with becoming Russian. Marie of Hesse and Alix of Hesse (Alexandra Feodorvna) both were incredibly zealous, more than most of their predecessors have been, about becoming Russian and yet they above all else were least accepted by the people. This book shows the Romanov family as normal men and women and not was "god" like as they are usually shown. They show the tsars reluctant to do their duty and they show the lovelifes of Tsars and Grand Dukes gone wrong. This book portrays Nicholas II as a family man, caring foremost about his family. The book ends with what could have been. Would the Russian Monarchy have survived if Alexei had come to the throne. Although his father, Nicholas II wasn't liked anymore, but the people still loved the tsarevitch.
I give this book a 3/5. I did enjoy the book a lot though the odd random character did confuse me quite often. The book is an interesting read but will confuse you. I liked the great tapestry of characters presented in the book (except for the odd problem) and the way it was written is very relaxing. I would suggest this to Romanov fans if they would like a deeper look into the Romanov family but to me a new-comer should not read this book because they WILL get confused with all the characters involved.
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