Oh my, oh my. When I first picked up Ms Appleyard’s latest release, I was expecting to find it interesting. I did not quite expect to become so utterly engrossed I spent hours breaking off to research further, or to break off my reading to turn to hubby and say “did you know…” before launching into a description of what I had just read. Ms Appleyard had outdone herself with this book – as will be evident once you read the review.
Thank you to Mary Anne Yard Book Promotion for offering me the opportunity to read a book I would likely not have discovered on my own – primarily because I didn’t know (until I read it) just how utterly fascinating I would find this depiction of the Romanov’s last years!
Blurb:
Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard is a gripping historical novel that shatters the notion that royalty is synonymous with privilege and ease. At its heart is Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II—a Romanov who defied a doomed destiny and survived.
Unlike her ill-fated brother and his family, Olga’s story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and daring escape. Trapped in a loveless marriage to a reckless gambler—who harbours secrets of his own—she finds hope in the arms of a dashing army lieutenant. But before she can claim her own happiness, she must first endure the brutal realities of World War I, where she serves as a nurse on the frontlines.
As the Russian Empire teeters on the brink of collapse, the infamous Siberian mystic Rasputin tightens his grip on the imperial court, setting the stage for revolution. With the Bolsheviks seizing power and the Romanovs marked for death, Olga faces an impossible choice: risk everything to stay or flee into the unknown with her true love and their children.
Rich in historical detail and driven by an unforgettable heroine, Escape of the Grand Duchess is a sweeping riches-to-rags tale of survival, love, and the strength it takes to forge a new life in the face of unimaginable upheaval.
Praise:
“Escape of the Grand Duchess” is not merely a tale of survival; it is an emotional and gripping exploration of Olga’s unwavering desire to seek solace amidst the ruins of her past. The novel beautifully captures her internal struggles and the relentless hope that drives her onward, making it a poignant and vivid narrative of resilience. This book comes highly recommended. – Yarde Book Promotions
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mlJGEW
Amazon US Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Grand-Duchess-Susan-Appleyard/dp/1990688462
Amazon UK Paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Grand-Duchess-Susan-Appleyard/dp/1990688462
My Review:
We first meet Olga Alexandrovna Romanov in 1901. She is nineteen, still mourning the death of her father seven years ago, and rather uninterested in glamour and parties—she may be a Grand Duchess, but Olga much prefers her paints and long walks to dazzling gowns and balls.
Olga is a wonderfully engaging character, warm and caring towards most in her extended family. She has a difficult relationship with her mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, but is not about to cause a ruckus, which is how she finds herself engaged to Prins Peter of Oldenburg. He isn’t exactly heels over head in love—it is apparent to the reader (and Olga) he sees this marriage as a practical arrangement. Just how practical is to dawn on Olga after the marriage, when she realises she has tied herself for life to a man who has absolutely no interest in her as a woman. None.
Olga is a frequent visitor in her brother Tsar Nicolai’s home. No one in the family seems to like Nicolai’s wife, Alix of Hesse. Maria Feodorovna considers her daughter-in-law to be something of an albatross round her imperial son’s neck: she initially refused to convert to Orthodox Christianity, she makes little effort to learn Russian, she avoids public events as much as possible and—so far—she has only given Nicolai daughters. Four lovely girls to be sure, but the Emperor needs a son.
I have never quite considered just how influential Alix of Hesse (Alicky to her Russian family) was in the events that finally culminated in the Russian Revolution. Consistently, she gives her husband advice that, if anything, indicates how far removed she is from the Russian people and their customs. And then, of course, there’s the fact that the son she finally gives Nicolai is haemophiliac. This is a major, major secret—Olga knows, seeing as she is a frequent visitor and something of a favourite with her nieces. She urges Nicolai to tell the people (and the family) the truth about little Alexei, but he refuses—and his wife agrees. After all, who will they blame for the little Tsesarevich Alexei’s condition but her, the silent carrier of the disease?
Olga watches with growing fear as her brother takes one incorrect decision after the other: the catastrophic war with Japan, the murder of the petitioners on Bloody Sunday in 1905, the attempt to create a representative Duma—which is then cancelled, and, perhaps worst of all, his acceptance of his wife’s close relationship with Father Grigori—a.k.a. Rasputin. Olga detests this religious charlatan—as do most of the Romanovs. But what has her truly worried is how distanced her brother is from his people—he lives in splendid isolation with his family at Tsarskoye Selo, unaware of the growing tensions among his subjects.
Meanwhile, Olga’s personal life is not exactly uncomplicated—she is in love, but her brother refuses to approve a divorce. And then World War I explodes, and while Olga yearns for her Niko—an officer—she also makes herself useful as a nurse.
Where the Romanovs survive the World War, they will not survive the next cataclysmic event: the Russian Revolution. Olga is suddenly an enemy of the people, and together with some of her family members she flees to Crimea, at last married to her Niko. The coming years are years of terrible loss, of constant fear, of hunger and trials.
Ms Appleyard has taken on quite an impressive challenge: there are so many Romanovs, so many cousins, uncles, nephews, nieces—all of them people Olga somehow interacts with. Despite her huge cast, Ms Appleyard manages to imbue them all with personal traits, portraying a collection of individuals who are all attempting to survive in a world where everything has been turned on its head. As we all know, many do not survive. Olga loses cousins, uncles, aunts and, of course, a beloved if inept brother and his entire family. She has to flee for her life repeatedly, lives in constant fear for her life and that of her sons and husband. And through it all, she has to watch her beloved Russia being torn asunder by civil war, reluctantly coming to realise that she will have to leave—if she wants to survive.
Be it imperial palaces, dachas in Crimea, the mountains of the Caucasus, Ms Appleyard paints a vibrant picture of her settings. Together with Olga, we sleep in mouldy hay in an abandoned barn, hold our breath as she leaps off a moving train, glide across frozen lakes on skates and sit in the sun with the Black Sea glittering in front of us. This reader finds herself so submerged in Olga’s existence it almost comes as a surprise when I reach the end of Escape of the Grand Duchess and discover I am safely ensconced in my sofa.
Ms Appleyard has written a book that is utterly gripping, making flesh-and-blood people of names that most of us have heard but don’t know all that much about. Very warmly recommended!
Author Bio:
Susan Appleyard was born in England, which is where she learned to love English history, and now lives in Canada in the summer. In winter she and her husband flee the cold for their second home in Mexico. Susan divides her time between writing and her hobby, oil painting, although writing will always be her first love. She was fortunate in having had two books published traditionally. Since joining the ebook crowd, she has published nine books, some of which have won various awards.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://susanappleyardwriter.wordpress.com
Blog: https://susanappleyardwriter.wordpress.com/blog/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/appleyard.susan/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.appleyard.9
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/susan-appleyard
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Susan-Appleyard/author/B00UTVMT5Y
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1283266.Susan_Appleyard
*************
Don’t forget to check out MY books!
Into medieval historical fiction? Check out The King’s Greatest Enemy or The Castilian Saga.
Prefer time-travelling? Check out The Graham Saga and The Time Locket
Thank you so much for ‘gushing’, Anna. (I love that word.) I appreciate the time and thought you put into your review.