Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr [Hardcover]

Christopher Warwick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2007

Considered to have been the most beautiful princess in Europe, capable of arousing ‘profane passions’, Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, or ‘Ella’ as she was known, was a  granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Princess Alice of Great Britain and Grand Duke Louis of Hesse. A privileged, happy Victorian childhood was touched by tragedy not only with the early deaths of her youngest brother and sister but also that of her young mother. Close to Queen Victoria, Ella spent some of her happiest times in Britain. At 20, however, much against the wishes of her  grandmother, who despised everything Russian, Ella became engaged to Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, the authoritarian younger brother of Tsar Alexander III. It was at their wedding that her younger sister, Alix, formed a love match with the future Tsar Nicholas II; an event which not only  sealed the fate of both sisters, but that of the Imperial House of Romanov. But for these two marriages, the history of Russia might have been very different.

With the assassination of her husband, Ella renounced society and, against considerable opposition, founded the first religious Order of its kind in Russia, working for the poor and destitute of Moscow. Though loved for her charitable works and pionerering achievements, Ella, like Nicholas, Alexandra, and fourteen members of their family, met a brutal death at the hands of the Bolsheviks. At the height of the Russian Revolution, she was taken captive to Siberia where, having been clubbed with rifle butts, she was hurled alive into a disused mineshaft and left to die  of her injuries. Later retrieved, her incorrupt body was eventually laid to rest on the Mount of Olives. She was subsequently canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as the Holy Imperial Martyr Saint Elisabeth Romanova. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"the book lingers with you long after you have finished it." (Majesty, September 2006)

"As ... Warwick’s biography of Ella aptly demonstrates, unravel one biography of a late-19th-century European royal and the entire dynasty unfolds." (The Daily Telegraph, November 2006)

"…inspiring…" (Majesty, November 2006)

"Christopher Warwick marshals an impressive dossier of research, drawing extensively on primary sources, to bring to life the lost worlds of late 19th Century royalty and the sumptuous last gasp of the Romanovs...it is hard to imagine a more rigorous study of a woman who, unusually in the annals of history, combined the roles of society beauty and latter-day saint." (Mail on Sunday, December 2006)

"Warwick's biography is freighted with domestic and cultural detail and weighted with tragedy." (The Times, December 2006)

“Christopher Warwick’s well-research biography fills a gap in the literature of royal lives.” (The Times Literary Supplement, February 2007)

"Christopher Warwick has given the story a new power and a subtle shift of meaning." (Royalty Digest, February 2007)

"Christopher Warwick's acclaimed new biography of Ella sheds new light on a remarkable woman." (Royalty Magazine)

"…a definitive biography…Elisabeth Feodorovna is one of the last century's true heroes. Christopher Warwick's book will tell you why." (The Tablet, February 2007)

The remarkable life of Elizabeth, or Ella as she was almost universally known, is revealed in fascinating detail by  Warwick.” (Yorkshire Evening Post, March 2007)

“…Warwick has produced a definitive biography…” (The Tablet, March 2007)

From the Inside Flap

CONSIDERED AT THE TIME to have been the most beautiful princess in Europe, capable of arousing "profane passions", Ella was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Princess Alice of great Britain and Grand Duke Louis of Hesse. Following the tragically early deaths of her youngest brother and sister and also that of her young mother, Ella spent some of the happiest years of her youth in Britain with her grandmother Queen Victoria. At 19, however, much against the wishes of the Queen, who disliked everything Russian, Ella became engaged to grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, the authoritarian younger brother of Tsar Alexander III. It was at their wedding that her younger sister, Alix, formed a love match with the future Tsar Nicholas II; an even which not only sealed the fate of both sisters, but that of the Imperial House of Romanov. Without these two marriages, the history of Russia might have been very different.

Following the assassination of her husband, Ella renounced society and, against considerable opposition, founded the first religious Order of its kind in Russia, working for the poor and destitute of Moscow, Though loved for her charitable works and pioneering achievements, Ella, like Nicholas, Alexandra and fourteen members of their family, met a brutal death at the hands of the Bolsheviks. At the height of the Russian Revolution, she was taken captive to Siberia where, having been clubbed with the rifle butts, she was hurled alive into a disused mineshaft and left to die of her injuries. She was subsequently canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as the Holy Imperial Martyr Saint Elisabeth Romanova.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (January 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047087063X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470870631
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 1 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Virtuous Royalty, February 11, 2007

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr (Hardcover)

Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Serge of Russia, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Born three years after the death of Prince Albert, she became one of her widowed grandmother's favorite grandchildren. This seemed to set a tone for Ella, as she was known, throughout her life. Very beautiful, she had a deeply religious side to her which was intensified by long visits to her perpetually mourning grandmother and by her mother Princess Alice's deep devotion to bettering the lives of the common people. Ella lost her mother when she was 14, further encouraging her religious interests, as did her eventual marriage to Grand Duke Serge, brother of Tsar Alexander III.

Serge was and is an enigma. He was either beloved or hated. Rumors of his sexual proclivities and peculiarities abounded while he was alive and intensified after his death at the hands of a terrorist in 1905. Christopher Warwick admits that no one can now know the truth about Serge, but he speculates that Ella's marriage was unconsummated, which naturally affected her emotionally and helped lead her to her eventual doom.

The finest parts of this book come toward the end, when Warwick describes Ella's putting aside her wealth and social position and founding an order of nursing sisters in Moscow. Her devotion to her work kept her from fleeing to safety after the Revolution, and eventually she was murdered just one day after her younger sister, Empress Alexandra. The circumstances of her life and death have made her an Orthodox Saint and Martyr, and she is remembered today in Westminster Abbey as one who suffered and died for her faith.

Warwick writes well and does a very thorough job covering Ella's life. Sometimes the descriptions of court ceremonies and celebrations wax a bit tedious, but that is how they must have seemed to some of the participants, like Ella, who had their minds on higher things.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read - Illustrations Weak, February 16, 2007

By 

Mark D. Peterson "Hapsburg" (Mascoutah, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr (Hardcover)

This was an exceptional read. Very easy - you are never mired down in endless ramblings like some historic tomes (you know, those ones that make you go "What?!?!"). I'm really glad Mr. Warwick did not repeat gosspip and rumors of Ella and her husband, Serge, as fact - like I've seen done before. If it is rumor or gossip - he tells you that fact upfront and tells you that these stories are so far unsubstantiated. The only thing I did not like, and this is really minor - Ella lived in a world where portraits were the norm and photography was everywhere - so where are all those pictures? The photos in the book were OK - but I really believe biographies should really have extensive sections of photographs so that the reader gets a really good idea of the individual. That aside, I really enjoyed the book and I believe anyone would as well.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Veritable Slog, June 9, 2007

By 

C. Redford "carpoqal" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr (Hardcover)

Having read many books on Russian History, I agree with a previous reviewer and state here that this is perhaps the worst one I've encountered. There are several misspellings, comma splices, etc., suggesting the need for an editor. I read this book to the end because I paid for it, but it was truly a veritable slog to the last page. The writing is dense and obtuse, suggesting a recent class in English Composition as evidenced by complex sentence structure that is needless and ultimately impedes understanding. There is no chart detailing the family relationships which would have helped in identifying some of the more distant family members mentioned. There are other books that are clearer, more easily digested, and don't leave this bad taste behind when one puts them down. This is a rehash of several other materials already out there - and while this is not usually a problem in many cases, there is nothing new added here except poor writing and a supercilious attitude that runs like a thread throughout the book. I do not recommend the book, but I do recommend the subject.