Escape of the Grand Duchess
Escape of the Grand Duchess covers the years 1900 to 1920 in the life of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, daughter of Tsar Alexander III and sister of Tsar Nicholas II. Her life began as a fairytale but was shattered by WWI and the Russian Revolution.
An arranged marriage to Prince Peter of Oldenburg flounders when he informs Olga that he’s a homosexual, and they will never have children, a stunning blow for her. But a few years later, Olga falls in love with Nikolai Kulikovsky, a commoner soldier. Olga wants a divorce but is refused because of potential scandal. After years of waiting, Olga is finally permitted to marry Nikolai while WWI is raging and she is serving as a nurse.
The war worsens for Russia, and hatred for her brother Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra rises. Particularly virulent is hatred for Rasputin, a disreputable man who is the only one who can keep the hemophiliac heir to the throne, Alexei, from dying. Rasputin is murdered, but removing his influence doesn’t stop the oncoming revolution. Now Olga’s life is in danger; only the fact that she’s married to a commoner helps her keep her life while the Romanovs are executed by the new regime. At last Olga and her husband flee Russia and eventually find a haven for themselves and their two sons in Canada, where Olga lives a peaceful life.
The escape of the title is multilayered; there’s her escape from Revolutionary Russia, and her escape from the restrictions hemming in Romanov princesses. The book is a fine addition to the ranks of Romanov fiction, and it’s a pleasure to read a story based on one of the less-known members of that doomed family. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the author takes us through Olga’s life with assured expertise. I certainly recommend it!
