Fleming takes the story of the last Romanov rulers of Russia and simplifies it for middle and high school students. Contrary to many previous biographies, she is not particularly sympathetic to the family, portraying them as spoiled, selfish, and out of touch. I would not argue that she was wrong about these attributes, but it does almost seem as if she is justifying the murders of the royal family. She stops short of saying they deserved it, but only just. Aside from this rather large flaw, the book is engaging and very well researched. Fleming manages to tell the story of Russia’s revolution through the lens of the Romanovs. She does a good job showing how several seemingly small incidences and misunderstandings, and plain mis-handlings of situations led to the end we all know is coming. Of course, students, who haven’t read any history of this era previously, won’t know what is coming, and that could be a plus for those readers of this book. Fleming also does a good job contrasting the sensational wealth of the Czar and his family with the terrible plight of ‘regular” Russian farmers and workers. It is a little long, and may struggle to find an audience, but it is worth reading for students who like history, or who enjoy biography.
June’s Rating System:Language—G; Violence—R There is a war, a revolution and a mass murder, not to mention the plot and murder of Rasputin; Magic and the Occult—PG there is some mention of Rasputin’s reputation for hypnotizing people and his “control” over the Empress; Adult Themes—PG Some violence, plotting, war, communism…
Robin's Comments:
I enjoyed this book--I especially was glad to see that she included late developments--such as the fact that the bodies have been found--all of them. Unfortunately, the last two have not been buried (at least at press time), but her inclusion of this material is important since it makes it possible for students to discount the repeated rumors that Anastasia survived. Disney is definitely wrong about that one.
