A solid biography about a remarkable woman
|
The life of the Grand Duchess Elisabeth, sister of the last Czarina and by marriage her aunt, seems to be made for legend: the society beauty who marries the prince charming who in terns got assassinated, she then turning to religion, becoming an abbess before being killed my the ruthless revolutionaries. Well, all this is true but it is only half of the story.
Christopher Warwick unfolds the events of the life of the Grand Duchess step by steps, putting them into context and being quite frank about things, like the doubtful sexual orientation of her husband. He does not writes in order to promote the cult of an saint and therefore refrains from the religious connotations or myths, like those surrounding the Grand Duchess 's death. This is very much appreciated.
Still there are certain elements missing which could explain how this person really was like. Born into a family of strong woman, she was
during her marriage a rather weak person, ordered about and publicly humiliated, only in widowhood she came into her own. How very different form her sister, the Czarina, who dominated her husband. There is not too much about her, but the relationship was not all good. Here the reader relies on guesswork. Her change from Grand Duchess to Abbess could have merited a more in-depth study. I liked that C. Warwick points out that she was as an abbess still a grand duchess and that she showed in her way of life.
The reader will meet a remarkable woman, an interesting woman and the biography is very solid giving the reader a great inside, but I feel the author has not really taken all available material into account. In my own library I have some books with shed more light on certain aspects of the grand duchess's life than this one. But still it is a very good book and enjoyable to read. However, I would not go as far as the previous reviewer in my praise I still believe it is worthwhile reading this very book
|
|
Ella - A gem of a book
|
This new biography about Ella (Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna of Russia) is a must read for any Romanov enthusiast. Christopher Warwick has obviously done extensive research in the archives at Windsor, Darmstadt and Moscow to come up with new information about Ella and her husband Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich to satisfy even the most well informed Romanov buffs. Even if one isn't particularly interested in Russian history Mr Warwick has produced a well written and very readable book about a woman who continues to fascinate many people.
Ella was considered by many to be the most beautiful of Queen Victoria's granddaughters. She was also an elder sister of the last Tsarina Alexandra and like her she was murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Ella's life took her from the Courts of Germany and England to St Petersburg. She later moved to Moscow when her husband was appointed Governor-General of Moscow and this city became her main residence until she was arrested in 1918. A few years after the assassination of her husband Ella founded the Martha and Mary Convent and took the veil. Two years after her murder Ella's coffin's was transported to the Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem where she still rests. Ella was canonised in 1981 and in 1998 her great nephew Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh was present along with Queen Elizabeth II when ten statues of twentieth century martyrs were unveiled above the west door of Westminster Abbey. Ella's statue is the fourth from the left.
Wiley have produced a beautifully bound hardback book, which is excellent value for money and makes for a very interesting read about a figure from history that deserves to be better known by a wider audience.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada