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The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport

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Susan
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The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport

Post by Susan » Sun November 23rd, 2014, 10:55 pm

The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport

My husband saw this book in the library and brought it home for me. I used to read mostly royalty NF books, but it was getting more difficult to focus on NF during the school year, so I have been reading mostly historical fiction books. However, I felt I had to read this one since my husband brought it home. I've read many books about the Romanovs, but never read a book that focuses on the four daughters of Nicholas II, the last tsar. It was an interesting to experience the life of the daughters who ranged in age from 17 to 22 when they were murdered. They are sort of an afterthought in books about their parents and their hemophiliac brother always gets more attention than his sisters. Helen Rappaport has done terrific research and includes so many details about the four sisters as they grew from children into young women, only to have their lives snuffed out in a basement in Siberia.
Last edited by Susan on Mon November 24th, 2014, 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sun November 23rd, 2014, 11:30 pm

I enjoyed this book as well. And I would agree that they haven't gotten their due, mostly because of all the movers and shakers that were in their lives. The two eldest daughters really fascinated me. I just wonder...what if...
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Susan
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Post by Susan » Mon November 24th, 2014, 1:31 am

With all the talk of Olga marrying and the hemophilia possibilities (although the genetics of the disease was not completely understood then), it is interesting to note that when DNA testing was done on the remains, Anastasia was the only daughter who carried the hemophilia gene. I wrote an area on royal hemophilia for Unofficial Royalty, the website that I help to administer.

Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
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princess garnet
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Post by princess garnet » Mon November 24th, 2014, 8:44 pm

I'd like to read this book too! Of interest, The Diary of Olga Romanov edited by Helen Azar provides a window in Olga's life during WWI and the early years of the Russian Revolution.

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Susan
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Post by Susan » Mon November 24th, 2014, 11:48 pm

[quote=""princess garnet""]I'd like to read this book too! Of interest, The Diary of Olga Romanov edited by Helen Azar provides a window in Olga's life during WWI and the early years of the Russian Revolution.[/quote]

Thanks for the book recommendation. When I looked it up on Amazon, I found that Helen Azar has also edited a compilation of the entire family's diaries, letters, and postcards. Rappaport does use the sisters' diaries, letters, and postcards quite a bit. I never knew that the sisters kept up a correspondence with friends during the first part of their captivity. Once they were at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, all correspondence was stopped. Some of the sisters' friends save the letters and they have been donated to the Russian Archives.
~Susan~
~Unofficial Royalty~
Royal news updated daily, information and discussion about royalty past and present
http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/

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Divia
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Post by Divia » Fri November 28th, 2014, 3:56 pm

[quote=""Susan""]With all the talk of Olga marrying and the hemophilia possibilities (although the genetics of the disease was not completely understood then), it is interesting to note that when DNA testing was done on the remains, Anastasia was the only daughter who carried the hemophilia gene. I wrote an area on royal hemophilia for Unofficial Royalty, the website that I help to administer.

Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia[/quote]

hmm! Now that is interesting. Thanks for posting!
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
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