On 17 July 1918, four young women walked down twenty-three steps into the cellar of a house in Ekaterinburg. The eldest was twenty-two, the youngest only seventeen. Together with their parents and their thirteen-year-old brother, they were all brutally murdered. Their crime: to be the daughters of the last Tsar and Tsaritsa of All the Russias. In Four Sisters acclaimed biographer Helen Rappaport offers readers the most authoritative account yet of the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
Drawing on their own letters and diaries, she paints a vivid picture of their lives in the dying days of the Romanov dynasty. We see, almost for the first time, their journey from a childhood of enormous privilege, throughout which they led a very sheltered and largely simple life, to young womanhood - their first romantic crushes, their hopes and dreams, the difficulty of coping with a mother who was a chronic invalid and a haeomophiliac brother, and, latterly, the trauma of the revolution and its terrible consequences. Compellingly readable, meticulously researched and deeply moving, Four Sisters gives these young women a voice, and allows their story to resonate for readers almost a century after their death.
About the Author
Helen Rappaport is a historian with a specialism in the nineteenth century. She is the author of eleven published books, including Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs and Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert and the Death that Changed the Monarchy. She is also the author, with Roger Watson, of Capturing the Light.
Industry Reviews
“Rappaport paints a compelling portrait of Tatiana, Olga, Maria and Anastasia.”
- People
“A gossipy, revealing story of the doomed Russian family's fairy tale life told by an expert in the field.” - Kirkus Reviews
“In their time, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia were depicted in international accounts as a cute, indistinguishable quartet. But Rappaport brings out each one's character and does it neatly, with a fine touch... While we know that the family's fate will be tragic, the girls don't, and Rappaport, with a light hand and admiring eyes, allows the four Grand Duchesses to grow on us as they grow up.” - Christian Science Monitor
“Rappaport is good at showing life within the castle gates... [she] makes a genuinely new, interesting contribution to the Romanov story, which is likely to appeal to both general and specialist readers.” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“In this new volume Helen Rappaport mines a trove of fresh material as she uncovers the lost lives of the daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra.” - Buffalo News
“The public spoke of the sisters in a gentile, superficial manner, but Rappaport captures sections of letters and diary entries to showcase the sisters' thoughtfulness and intelligence. Readers will be swept up in the author's leisurely yet informative narrative as she sheds new light on the lives of the four daughters.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The haunting cover photograph of the Romanov sisters will draw readers, and the extensive bibliography will aid those who want to learn more.” - Booklist
"Rappaport is insightful in her analysis of Alexandra's vulnerability [and] illuminates the precise influence of Grigori Rasputin... An astoundingly intimate tale of domestic life lived in the crucible of power." - Observer
"[Rappaport] brings to Four Sisters an encyclopedic knowledge of the minutiae of Nicholas and Alexandra's family life... Four Sisters is a study in unity. It demonstrates resoundingly the strength of family ties." - The Telegraph
"A well-written gem... a fascinating, in-depth and comprehensively researched study of the imperial daughters." - Daily Express
"Evocative and beautifully researched and told, this is narrative history at its best." - Bookseller
"Poignant [and] well written... Rappaport's sensitive portrayal of the doomed sisters draws the reader into an attachment to each one." - Mail on Sunday
"One of the greatest skills a historian can possess is to make readers feel as if they have stepped back in time to witness the characters, places and events they describe. In her stunning composite biography, Helen Rappaport achieves this to dazzling and, at times, almost unbearably poignant effect." - Tracy Borman, BBC History Magazine
