Rasputin's Daughter (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [Library Binding]

Robert Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In an endeavor similar to his debut novel, The Kitchen Boy, Alexander couples extensive research and poetic license, this time turning his enthusiasm toward perhaps the most intriguing player in the collapse of the Russian dynasty: Rasputin. This eyebrow-raising account of the final week of the notorious mystic's life is set in Petrograd in December 1916 and narrated by Rasputin's fiery teenage daughter, Maria. The air in the newly renamed capital is thick with dangerous rumors, many concerning Maria's father, whose close relationship with the monarchy—he alone can stop the bleeding of the hemophiliac heir to the throne—invokes murderous rage among members of the royal family. Maria is determined to protect her father's life, but the further she delves into his affairs, the more she wonders: who, exactly, is Rasputin? Is he the holy man whose genuine ability to heal inspires a cult of awed penitents, or the libidinous drunkard who consumes 12 bottles of Madeira in a single night, the unrestrained animal she spies "[eagerly] holding [the] housekeeper by her soft parts"? Does this unruly behavior link him to an outlawed sect that believes sin overcomes sin? The combination of Alexander's research and his rich characterizations produces an engaging historical fiction that offers a Rasputin who is neither beast nor saint, but merely, compellingly human. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In The Kitchen Boy (2003), Alexander creatively imagined an answer to the mystery of the last days of the Russian imperial family during the revolution--the question centering on whether any family member survived the slaughter in the basement of their Siberian house of exile. Now he ventures into the -never--cleared-up last days of Gregory Rasputin, the monk who held sway at the prerevolution court. Employing the fast pace of a thriller and the ability to make a remote historical episode personal to the reader, Alexander views events from the perspective of Rasputin's elder daughter, Maria. World War I rages on, and the auxiliary members of the Romanov family are fit to be tied over Empress Alexandra's obsessive need for the ministrations of the hated Rasputin; Maria soon realizes her father's life is truly in jeopardy. What finally happens to him involves not only conspiracy within the imperial family but also a personal betrayal by a young man Maria had fallen for. The author lends great understanding to the time and to actual historical figures. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 304 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417787538
• ISBN-13: 978-1417787531
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,153,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert Alexander is a treasure!, January 30, 2006

By 

Traci D. Haley (Prineville, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rasputin's Daughter (Hardcover)

Robert Alexander spent nearly thirty years traveling to Russia, where he attended Leningrad State University and worked for the U.S. government. For this reason, he proves to be the perfect author to tackle the task of fictionalizing the story of the last of the Romanovs. In "The Kitchen Boy", Alexander exquisitely blended fact and fiction to tell the story of Nicholas II's execution and provided an intriguing "What if?" end to the story. Now, in "Rasputin's Daughter", the author tackles an even more fascinating and controversial subject - that of Father Grigori Rasputin, the much-hated madman who "cured" Alexei Romanov and played a key part in bringing about the downfall of Mother Russia. Told from the point of view of Rasputin's eldest daughter, Maria, this novel traces Gigori Rasputin's final days leading up to his brutal execution by Felix Yusupov and several other Romanov royals who felt threatened by Rasputin's power. Robert Alexander poses his own theories on what might have happened the night Rasputin died and whether the "Mad Monk" really possessed healing abilities, or whether he was just out to harm the Romanov reputation. The result is a novel that I couldn't put down. Alexander obviously loves Russia and manages to perfectly evoke the political and social climate of pre-Revolutionary Russia and the controversy that constantly surrounded the royal family. "Rasputin's Daughter" grips you until the very end and leaves you wanting for more!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable novel that vividly recounts the last days of Rasputin, January 24, 2006

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rasputin's Daughter (Hardcover)

The problem with reading historical fiction is that you are never quite sure what constitutes truth versus fiction. Unless you are a noted expert on the book's subject matter, you are bound to be iffy on which particulars are 100% true versus those that have been stretched and pulled for dramatic effect.

In Robert Alexander's new novel, RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER, the minutiae of Grigori Rasputin's (the Russian religious healer and trusted advisor to Tsar Nicholas and Tsaritsa Alexandra) last days are recounted with vivid detail and what seems like stunning accuracy, as if the book were a biography and not fiction. Retold from the perspective of Rasputin's eldest daughter Matryona Grigoevna (Maria), the myths of how Rasputin died are dispelled and a proposed answer to the question of how he was actually killed is spelled out. Much like his imagined (yet impeccably researched) account of the Romanovs' hideous executions during the Russian Revolution in the bestselling THE KITCHEN BOY, the story of Rasputin's final hours is riveting, fast-paced, and almost too comprehensive to be historical fiction. At times, you just want it all to be proven fact.

The novel opens as Maria is being questioned by the Thirteenth Section in April 1917 about her father's mysterious death. Through a succession of flashbacks, Maria describes the last week of her father's life in December 1916, set against the backdrop of a highly unstable Russian empire that is fraught with political upheaval and civil unrest. She recounts in great detail his numerous excursions to the Imperial Palace, and more than hints at the direct correlation between Heir Aleksei Nikolaevich's miraculous recoveries from hemophilia-related injuries and Rasputin's curative powers. She gives reports of his disgraceful sexual appetite and reveals his secret extramarital relationship with their longtime live-in maid, Dunya, yet also insists that he was both kind to and forgiving of his many petitioners and did what he could to alleviate their suffering. Through Maria's eyes, Rasputin is portrayed as a tortured and complex character --- spiritually gifted and fallibly human.

Possibly one of the book's greatest fallacies (and yet, paradoxically, what will probably make it more palatable to those who prefer his mysteries, written under the name R.D. Zimmerman) is Alexander's devotion to Maria's supposed romance with the mysterious Sasha, whom she meets on a boat while traveling with her sister and Dunya, and whom she "runs into" throughout the next few years of her life. Although certainly an endearing plot thread, at times it reads almost too much like a romance novel and some readers might wonder when the plot will focus again on meatier subject matters --- the "historical" behind the fiction.

All mushy romantic encounters aside, it is without question that Alexander has done his research when recreating pre-revolutionary Russia. There is much talk of princes and empresses, courts and royal feasts --- all intricately examined and lavishly portrayed. Vodka is consumed in copious amounts and secret, mysterious plots are being hatched behind every dark corner. Like every good Russian novel, the threat of deceit is always in the air and, in the end, what unfolds is a plot twist (as much as a novel based on fact can contain a "twist") that will delight even the most knowledgeable of readers.

Overall, RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER is certainly enjoyable and enough to digest in one sitting, if given the time. What the book might have benefited from is an addendum that aims to separate conjecture from documented history, so readers (like this reviewer) will not be left with nagging questions about the book's legitimacy long after the excitement of the story dies down.


--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, January 22, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rasputin's Daughter (Hardcover)

This historical fiction is the story of the last weeks of the life of Grigori Rasputin, the mythic Russian religious healer and advisor to Tsar Nicholas and Tsaritsa Alexandra, in the years before their execution.

An illiterate and uneducated peasant from Siberia, he became both beloved and reviled by the powers in Russia, and by the people. Rasputin's daughter, Matryona Grigorievna, or Maria, was only 18 when her father was murdered. She had always adored and respected her father, but during the last months of his life, she discovered some distasteful truths about him.

She had a hard time reconciling the kind, generous man she had always seen, with the man who was sleeping with the housekeeper while his wife was at home in Siberia, and who abused some of his petitioners. Rasputin helped all who came to him, some with advice, some with one of his notes that asked that whatever the petitioner wanted should be granted; some with money. The powerful, the affluent and the nobility showered him with gifts of money and food, and they also came to him for influence.

The vast dichotomy of the disease, turbulence and poverty of the time, against the small but obscenely wealthy aristocracy living in their insular palaces and served by hundreds of retainers, is depicted perfectly.

Alexander's long familiarity with Russia, the language, the customs, and the history is evident here (he has been traveling there for nearly 30 years). Extensive research has paid off in a fascinating chronicle. Secretive, outlawed religious cults, and murderous plots by corrupt government officials and nobility are part of the narrative. Alexander has included snippets of the poetry of Alexander Blok and the beloved Pushkin, a rare pleasure. The book includes an epilogue, a chronology, and a glossary.

Check the web site www.rasputinsdaughter.com for photographs, narrative, and more background on the era.

Armchair Interviews says: With mesmerizing characters, and an evocative atmosphere Alexander has created an informative and enjoyable book full of historical insight into a tumultuous era. This would make an interesting book club selection