About book Four Sisters: The Lost Lives Of The Romanov Grand Duchesses (2014)
Being interested in Russian history, I was very excited to read this. Most of what I had previously read about this time period was from the revolutionary perspectives of Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. What I enjoyed most about this was how seamlessly the author wove the stories of the Imperial Family into the greater picture of Russian and European history. It was interesting to follow the lives of the Imperial Family. They led as ordinary of lives possibly for their position, and I think that has helped to create such a sympathetic image of them in the world's mind. I liked how Rappaport did not focus on all the political unrest but on the family life . It was obvious throughout that this was well researched with many sources being from the letters, diaries, and memoirs of the family and their closest confidants. It definitely added a bunch of additional reading to my reading list. Knowing how the story ends definitely increased my sympathies towards the daughters wishing that there could have been some way to save them. It was also interesting to follow the threads of how the Imperial Family's actions led to the revolution throughout the biography. It leads to many questions of if circumstances had been slightly different, could their fates have been different. This book has made my work-life miserable and grouchy for weeks now. Today it ends. A sample footnote about Anastasia's dog Jim:"The dog has often been named elsewhere as Jem or Jemmy but the Katya letters confirm its name as above. There has also been discussion - based perhaps on the faulty recall of Anna Vyrubova - that Jim belonged to Tatiana, but again Anastasia's letters to Katya make abundantly clear that the dog was hers."Having read that, try to go back and read it again with a straight face. It can't be done. Multiply by 400 pages.(Just saw that someone called this "fast-paced." I've been reading about their captivity in Tobolsk, which was mostly spent writing letters about how every day there was the same. For about fifty pages. Reading similar letters about how nothing is happening. Fast. Paced. Meanwhile, offstage, a hastily mentioned Revolution.)
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I really enjoyed this book. Very interesting, also very sad.
—Pieter
Beautiful hardback copy- christmas gift from my friend.
—Lexus59
