โAlexandraโs story is heartbreakingโ and this New York Timesโbestselling author โexcels in the detailsโ in this biography of the last Russian Empress (Chicago Tribune).
Taking advantage of material unavailable until the fall of the Soviet Union, Erickson portrays Alexandraโs story as a closely observed, enthrallingly documented, progressive psychological retreat from reality.
The lives of the Romanovs were full of color and drama, but the personal life of Alexandra has remained enigmatic. Under Ericksonโs masterful scrutiny the full dimensions of the Empressesโ singular psychology are revealed: her childhood bereavement, her long struggle to attain her romantic goal of marriage to Nicholas, the anguish of her pathological shyness, her struggles with her in-laws, her false pregnancy, her increasing eccentricities and loss of self as she became more preoccupied with matters of faith, and her increasing dependence on a series of occult mentors, the most notorious of whom was Rasputin. With meticulous care, long practiced skill, and generous imagination, Erickson crafts a character who lives and breathes.
โEntertaining. . . . One of the bookโs strengths is its emphasis on the private life of the court.โ โPublishers Weekly
โCarrolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English.โ โLondon Times Literary Supplement