Summary
Summary
With the same riveting historical narrative that made The Kitchen Boy a national bestseller and a book club favorite, Robert Alexander returns to revolutionary Russia for the harrowing tale of Rasputin's final days as told by his youthful and bold daughter, Maria. Interrogated by the Provisional Government on the details of her father's death, Maria vividly recounts a politically tumultuous Russia, where Rasputin's powerful influence over the throne are unsettling to all levels of society, and the threats to his life are no secret. With vast conspiracies mounting against his father, Maria must struggle with the discovery of Rasputin's true nature-his unbridled carnal appetites, mysterious relationship with the Empress, rumors of involvement in secret religious cults-to save her father from his murderers. Swept away in a plot much larger than the death of one man, Maria fmds herself on the cusp of the Russian Revolution itself. With Rasputin's Daughter, Robert Alexander once again delivers an imaginative and compelling story, fashioned from one of history's most fascinating periods that, until now, has been virtually unexplored in fiction."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."-Publishers Weekly
Author Notes
Robert Alexander is an author who attended Lenigrad State University and later worked for the U.S. Government traveling extensively. For over 20 years he was a partner in a very successful St. Petersburg company that operated a warehouse and customs clearance center and dental clinic. He was motivated to write his first book when he was followed by the KGB. Since then he has written over 24 books, including children's fiction, mysteries, and historical novels. He has also written for television and auhtored popular mystery games. His first historical novel of revolutionary Russia, The Kitchen Boy, was a New York Times bestseller, and is being produced for film.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
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 2005 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In this follow-up to his popular debut The Kitchen Boy, Alexander again mines the considerable lore of the Russian imperial family. Rasputin, the legendary mad monk, is also a family man raising two daughters in 1916 St. Petersburg. As he ministers to the tsaritsa and her royal brood during the last week of his life, 18-year-old Maria strives to understand the menacing aura surrounding her father. She is both loving and rebellious, but her adventures are limited to a flirtation with a young man who will betray her in a plot against her father. Alexander's wild-eyed romp through a period much studied for its contradictions and cruelties will be a staple of most historical fiction collections.-Barbara Conaty, Moscow, Russia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.