Title: The Tsarina’s Daughter
Author: Ellen Alpsten
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 15, 2022
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, a former serf, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the envy of the Russian empire. She is insulated by luxury and spoiled by her father, who dreams for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule in Versailles. But when a woodland creature gives her a Delphic prophecy, her life is turned upside down. Her volatile father suddenly dies, her only brother has been executed and her mother takes the throne of Russia.
As friends turn to foes in the dangerous atmosphere of the Court, the princess must fear for her freedom and her life. Fate deals her blow after blow, and even loving her becomes a crime that warrants cruel torture and capital punishment: Elizabeth matures from suffering victim to strong and savvy survivor. But only her true love and their burning passion finally help her become who she is. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth finds herself in mortal danger and must confront a terrible dilemma–seize the reins of power and harm an innocent child, or find herself following in the footsteps of her murdered brother.
Hidden behind a gorgeous, wildly decadent façade, the Russian Imperial Court is a viper’s den of intrigue and ambition. Only a woman possessed of boundless courage and cunning can prove herself worthy to sit on the throne of Peter the Great.
Ellen Alpsten’s stunning new novel, The Tsarina’s Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal.
Review:
Tsarevna Elizabeth is the daughter of Peter the Great and his wife Catherine. She lives a luxurious life with dreams of marrying the French King. However, after receiving a prophecy from a woodland creature, everything in her life goes wrong. Her relatives die one by one and the future she imagined for herself disappears. Elizabeth must use the lessons she’s learned from these hardships to become a strong and determined woman.
This was an epic story about love, scandal, and determination. It felt like this story took place over many decades because so much happened, but it was just a few years. This was the kind of story that had me looking up the true history to find out what actually happened and what was fiction because it was hard to believe it was true. This history made a great story.
I was glad that this story wasn’t as graphic as the first one about Catherine, Elizabeth’s mother, called Tsarina. This one focused more on the scandal and drama between people and their relationships, rather than the brutality they experienced.
The Tsarina’s Daughter is a thrilling historical story.
Thank you St. Martin’s Griffin for providing a copy of this book.
What to read next:
The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
About the author:
ELLEN ALPSTEN was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Upon graduating from L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a news anchor for Bloomberg TV London. Whilst working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons and a moody fox red Labrador. She is the author of Tsarina.
Have you read The Tsarina’s Daughter? What did you think of it?
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