Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Rebel Romanov:
Even princesses deserve second acts.
Quick synopsis:
The life of Jule Saxe-Coburg and her flight from Russian court life.
Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:
Actual note from Grand Duke Alexander to his future wife included this tidbit that she reported that he was, “authorized by his parents to tell me that he loved me.” I am sure she swooned.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
Duke Konstantin said he loved military parades but not actual war because it, “spoils [the look of] the troops.” Priorities.
My Take on The Rebel Romanov:
Marriage is hard. It is especially hard when you are a nearly broke German princess and you get married to a Russian prince who, how shall I put this lightly, has a significant personality disorder. Welcome to the story of Julie Saxe-Coburg!
Helen Rappaport tells Julie’s story in her book The Rebel Romanov. You may not have heard about Julie, but you probably did hear about many other people in this book connected to her like Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria, Tsar Alexander, and various other royalty. Julie was a major part of the truly weird game of intermarriage that European royalty loved to take part in.
My enjoyment and rating of this book is based mostly on Rappaport’s writing. She balances numerous characters (who frustratingly usually have the same names) and gives an excellent picture of the time they all lived in. Major players are highlighted but never completely overtake the narrative.
My singular issue with the book is a big one but not the fault of the author. Julie is not a very interesting main character, at least as far as we can tell. Much of her correspondence needed to be kept secret or destroyed to avoid the ire of the Russian monarchy. Her exile from court meant she did not have any major influence on world events. It didn’t help that she was also sickly (which may have been her husband’s fault) and thus didn’t travel as extensively as might be expected. Rappaport works with what she has, and the book is still very good. However, I think non-history nerds might be underwhelmed by Julie’s story.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press.)
Verdict:
Informative and interesting. Buy it here!
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