Michael and Natasha [Hardcover]

Donald Crawford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 1998

The unknown story of the last Tsar of Russia set against backdrop of wealth, love, sex, royalty, war, revolution and murder. The relationship and subsequent marriage of Michael and Natasha was one of Greatest scandals in Russian History. It lead to Michael's disgrace, humiliation and banishment. Michael and Natasha is the first full account of this magnificent love story. But it is also more than that : It charts the decline of the last age of elegance and provides a fascinating insight into the daysleading up to the Russian Revolution. This is an outstanding romance, a Royal scandal and a compelling historical drama with a supremely tragic ending.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In 1908 in prerevolutionary Russia, the czar's brother Grand Duke Michael fell in love with married commoner Natasha Wulfert. If fate had been kinder, they might have been the first in a line of Romanov constitutional monarchs. Instead, Michael spent ten years battling for acceptance of their marriage and working to convince the czar that his repressive policies were driving the country to revolution. The subtitle calls Michael "the last of the Romanov Tsars," a title usually reserved for his brother Nicholas II. Technically, Michael was the last, simply because Nicholas abdicated in his favor shortly before both were murdered in 1918. This book is not only history but the tragic love story of a couple trying to be together and still fulfill their obligations to the country they loved. The authors, both journalists, have crafted a compelling, well-researched account of an aspect of Russian history not widely known. Highly recommended.?Katharine Garstka, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, Ala.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Thwarted love, scandal, and tragedy among royals, this time played out in the genuinely moving story of Michael Romanov. At the beginning of the century, the Romanov rulers of Russia faced turmoil both in politics and in their personal lives. Scandals and feuds erupted as various Romanovs defied Tsar Nicholas by marrying commoners and divorc‚es, and by taking sides for or against the controversial Tsaritsa Alexandra. Because Michael, Nicholas's younger brother by ten years, was a potential heir to the throne, his personal life carried very public implications. Thus, when he fell in love with a married woman (and divorc‚e), Natasha Wulfert, it was both a political and a family scandal. After fathering a son with her, Michael, a loyal lover and dedicated family man, defied the tsar's orders and married Natasha secretly in Vienna. Outraged, Nicholas took drastic measures, denying him money and removing him from the regency. Yet after spending several years in European exile, Michael and Natasha returned to Russia with the outbreak of WW I; when the Motherland was at stake, family rows could be put aside. Their return also led to their tragic end: Michael, chosen by Nicholas as his heir upon his abdication, was imprisoned and executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, while Natasha later died alone and destitute in Paris. The Crawfords, British journalists, tell two stories here: the compelling account of a private romance and enduring love, and a less focused narrative of the historical circumstances that determined the couple's fate. Well researched, but lengthy and overly detailed, the book will appeal especially to fans of royal romances. Given this intimate and persuasive account of a decent, honest man, readers cannot help but wonder about the course of history if only Michael, and not Nicholas, had been tsar. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix (June 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753805162
• ISBN-13: 978-0753805169
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,382,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance Suggests Real-LIfe Anna Karenina and Vronsky, January 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael ll the Last of the Romanov Tsars (Hardcover)

As an avid reader of books about the Romanov family, I consider Rosemary and Donald Crawford's dual biography one of the best.

Admittedly, much of my enthusiasm has to do with the heretofore lack of information about Michael, youngest brother of Tsar Nicholas. Except for the wonderful biography of the brothers' eldest sister Olga, mention of Michael often has been sketchy and/or flat.

However, this account skillfully represents Michael and Natasha as three-dimensional people -- flawed but sympathetic, occasionally admirable, and often (like most of us) guilty of errors in judgment.

In previously published books, Michael almost always comes off as little more than a handsome dolt. In this biography, however, we read that in addition to being the impetuous, charming and relatively carefree younger brother of Tsar Nicholas, Michael also was bright, well-regarded by many government officials, and possessed of considerable leadership ability. The beautiful Natasha, while definitely a "scarlet woman," matched and perhaps surpassed Michael in the charisma department, but -- unlike her lover and eventual husband -- possessed amibition and tenacity. Together, they were quite a couple, and today would be considered glamourous and trend-sitting.

Understandably, however, Nicholas and Alexandra -- being far more conventional, and the epitome of Traditional Family Values -- were highly intolerant of Michael and Natasha's relationship and marriage. This book explores many intriguing aspects of the Michael/Natasha liaison, such as the evolvement of their relationship, and the supposed disapproval of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, who also was involved in an unconventional relationship.

In checking other reader reviews of this book, I am surprised at the range. Some are completely lauditory, while others are completely condemnatory.The title should clue potential readers that the Crawford's book is, above all, a portrait of a romance. That it is played aginst the final years of Tsarist Russia is of course important, but those uninterested in family and social dynamics are advised to look elsewhere.

However, for those of us who are interested in the story of a relationship and are familiar with with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Michael and Natasha's story, like that of Anna and Vronksy, is fascinating, moving, and timeless. The Crawfords are to be commended for their excellent research and highly fluid writing style; this is a book I will want to return to again and again.

If you share an enthusiasm for the Romanovs, I invite you to contact me at [e-mail].

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect antidote to Massie's Nicholas & Alexandra, June 12, 2000

By 

Tyler Durden - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael and Natasha: The Life And Love Of Michael ll, The Last Of The Romanov Tsars (Paperback)

While I question the authors' English usage at times, this is a good book that fills a large gap in the history of the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Whether the authors meant to show Nicholas and Alexandra as two of the biggest baddies who ever drew breath is another story, not to mention Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, usually seen as the ill used mouse of the Romanov family [due to her biographer Ian Vorres] but here, refreshingly portrayed as she was probably was; conniving and devious, with both eyes fixed on the main chance!

Michael & Natasha is a moving story of the ups and downs of Imperial fortune. A couple who were clearly in love. Natasha's foundering fortunes in exile make heartrending reading. The authors tell the story in a straigtforward manner, and the narrative flows well.

One point the authors don't quite clarify is the fact that Natasha's claim on Nicholas and Alexandra's bank account in Berlin in the 1930's was made as the beneficiary of her late son, not because she was on equal footing with the other relatives. As a morganatic wife of a Grand Duke she could not inherit, but as the mother of Michael's deceased child she could. Her action galvanized Anna Anderson's supporters to request the withdrawal of the certificate of inheritance which led to the ensuing court case to prove that Anna Anderson was Grand Duchess Anastasia. The authors claim Mrs Anderson's action failed in 1961, but in fact the case was finally abandoned in 1977, not before it was ruled 'non liquet' [that is, unsatisfactory to both parties,] in 1970. Interestingly enough, it was the bank which held the funds who wrote to Mrs Anderson to warn her of the action. Could they but have known!

I think the book is quite well researched, as the authors have been able to avoid the traps that Massie fell into in Nicholas and Alexandra.

I've read this book twice now, and it all seems so sad. That Russia was governed by such an unstable woman and that no-one could have possibly foreseen the outcome of her actions throughout the 20th century and beyond. Least of all by the remainder of the Romanov dynasty.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A love story that transcends time., December 9, 1997

By 

Vivian Narvaez [e-mail] (U. S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael ll the Last of the Romanov Tsars (Hardcover)

As an avid fan of Russian history and letters, I was delighted by the publication of Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael II, the Last of the Romanov Tsars, by Rosemary and Donald Crawford. I was first intrigued by Michael Romanov and Natasha Wulfert through Kyril FitzLyon and Tatiana Browning's superb pictorial volume, Before the Revolution: Russia and Its People Under the Czar, where the couple appears photographed together on the occasion of Natasha's birthday. Somehow, and despite the grandeur of their surroundings and attire -- the epitome of that majestic and romantic age -- they came across as very appealing and almost modern individuals. Their story is the moving saga of a love that was doomed, not merely due to differences in pedigree and status, but because of historic forces they (particularly Michael, with his unswerving belief in human kindness) unfortunately underestimated. Throughout this engaging work, the quality that most vividly comes across is the couple's deep and abiding love for one another -- a love that survived ostracism, political cataclysms, and, one is convinced, even the alleged finality of death. The lifestyle they exemplified, spent amid the grandeur of vast country estates, brilliant St. Petersburg salons, and the intrigues of the Romanov court, has been faithfully preserved by Russia's leading authors in enduring works of fiction, and, in fact, striking parallels exist between Natasha and Tolstoi's immortal Anna Karenina. That Natasha herself may have examined the similarities, with perhaps a mixture of dread and amusement, is a clear possibility, as she was a cultivated woman who, moreoever, moved in artistic circles. Status, rank, and privileged position notwithstanding, both Michael and Natasha reveal themselves, through letters and contemporary testimonies, as thoroughly decent human beings who found themselves (proverbially) at the wrong place and time in history, and whose love, courage, and integrity alone were no match against a harsh age. Foreknowledge of the events that conspired and ultimately triumphed over their hopes for happiness and, indeed, their very existence, is not a damper to the reader's obstinate hope that, despite history's well known verdict, they and their private world will endure. Natasha, noted for the beauty of her "sad eyes," perhaps always sensed that tragedy would one day overtake her, even when tangible evidence of that fact was still far in the future. Michael, an avid photographer, left behind a rich pictorial record of their brief time together, so as to capture and preserve moments that, in their poignancy, he perhaps sensed were too lovely and fragile to endure. Reading this excellent work of biography, one is again moved to sorrow by the fate of the Romanovs who, despite their political blindness, did not deserve the cruel and bloody end which, with rare exceptions, befell most of their lineage. If there is a flaw to the biography at all, it is that a story that was so consistently rich in intimate detail for nearly 400 pages is abruptly cut off with Natasha's acceptance of Michael's tragic fate six years after his disappearance in 1918. Her own later life, which encompassed nearly three decades, is quickly summarized in a few terse paragraphs that leave the curious reader somewhat disoriented. Though her own ending in poverty, loneliness, and illness is almost too disturbing to absorb after all she has had to endure, I believe Natasha (and those interested in her fate) deserved a more gradual and gentle farewell.