"Alexandra's story is heartbreaking" and this New York Times-bestselling author "excels in the details" in this biography of the last Russian Empress ( Chicago Tribune).
Taking advantage of material unavailable until the fall of the Soviet Union, Erickson portrays Alexandra's story as a closely observed, enthrallingly documented, progressive psychological retreat from reality.
The lives of the Romanovs were full of color and drama, but the personal life of Alexandra has remained enigmatic. Under Erickson's masterful scrutiny the full dimensions of the Empresses' singular psychology are revealed: her childhood bereavement, her long struggle to attain her romantic goal of marriage to Nicholas, the anguish of her pathological shyness, her struggles with her in-laws, her false pregnancy, her increasing eccentricities and loss of self as she became more preoccupied with matters of faith, and her increasing dependence on a series of occult mentors, the most notorious of whom was Rasputin. With meticulous care, long practiced skill, and generous imagination, Erickson crafts a character who lives and breathes.
"Entertaining.... One of the book's strengths is its emphasis on the private life of the court." - Publishers Weekly
"Carrolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English." - London Times Literary Supplement