Since I was young, I have been fascinated by the last
Russian tsar and his family. After reading about Anastasia Romanov in a library
book about great unsolved mysteries in the 1980s (before the remains of the
Romanovs were found and identified), I wanted to learn all I could about the
tragic family. In the days before the internet, I had to rely upon the books
available in my town’s small library, and while it had several books on the
Romanovs, Nicholas and Alexandra and Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna
Anderson were a hard slog for nine-year-old me. After trying to read these
books, I still had an incomplete and highly romanticized idea of the Romanovs
and the Russian Revolution.
Even though that was many years ago and I’ve since had the
chance to learn more about Revolutionary Russia, I was thrilled to read Candace
Fleming’s The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial
Russia. In it, Fleming presents a well-written and well-researched account
of a Russia’s last tsar and his family and the inequality and discontent that
led to their downfall. This is a considerable undertaking, and the author navigates
the complexity of the task with ease. The result is a lively and compelling
narrative that keeps the reader engaged while also being informative.
The Family Romanov is a book of juxtapositions and
contrasts. These oppositions range from the epic and obvious (the decadence of
the Russian nobility versus the struggles and abject poverty of the peasants
and workers) to the more subtle (Nicholas II’s shy and gentle nature versus his
cold and callous treatment of his people). Fleming does an excellent job
presenting these disparities, and it is her ability to balance them that makes
the book so gripping. In each of the four parts, which follow Nicholas and
Alexandria from their early lives to their marriage, reign, arrest, and demise,
Fleming includes information on the growing discontent of Russia’s workers and
farmers. This discontent is fomented by a number of different factions,
including the growing literacy rate, World War I, and a number of very poor
choices by Nicholas. Underscoring the suffering of most Russian citizens are
grim descriptions of their lives as well as excerpts from first-hand accounts.
In Fleming’s capable hands, the different pieces fit together and form a
cohesive whole.
A challenge for any book about the family of the last tsar is
the question of how to portray them. Were they indifferent to the people’s
misery or were they merely ignorant? Was Nicholas a truly terrible tsar or was
he simply a ruler during the wrong time? The temptation to deify or demonize them
can be overwhelming. Fortunately for readers, Fleming skillfully avoids this
and instead depicts the family in a sympathetic but realistic and well-rounded
way. Nicholas and Alexandria are loving and devoted parents but are ill-suited
(in almost every way conceivable) to be the rulers of Russia. The choices they
make, whether they are impulsive or thoughtful, inevitably seem to be the wrong
ones, and their blindness to the burgeoning discontent in the country is
amazing. However, these are also understandable for readers because of the
context and information Fleming provides. Similarly, she describes the plight
of the peasants in a manner that helps us imagine the oppressive penury that
ultimately resulted in revolution.
The Family Romanov is designated as a children’s book
(the author’s website says that is for ages 9 – 12), and the language and
content make it accessible and appropriate for that age range. However, I think
the book would also work for students in junior high and early high school,
especially for students who struggle with reading. While the ideas and content
are complex, the writing is clear and easy to follow and the layout of the book
offers readers cues without cluttering the pages with too many distracting
boxes and graphics. Rather than including the pictures throughout the
narrative, they are confined to two sections. This design choice is one of many
that contribute to the book’s adult look and feel, which could help mitigate or
prevent older students who read it from feeling marginalized or stigmatized.
As mentioned earlier, Fleming does an excellent job
researching her subjects. Besides the excerpts of first-hand accounts of
peasant life and the revolution, the chapters include quotes from letters and
other documents written by the Russian aristocracy. The book also has a listing
of helpful and relevant resources, such as a bibliography of primary and
general sources and a page of online resources, which include an online exhibit
of the State Hermitage Museum, which has maps, timelines, and a virtual tour of
artifacts.
All in all, The Family Romanov is a thoughtful and engrossing
piece of children’s/YA nonfiction that provides readers with the opportunity to
learn and consider complex and important issues in a way that is accessible. It
would make a worthy addition to any school or classroom library, and it would
be a great text to use for a middle grade (or early high school) social studies
classroom.
P.S. Random House has a teacher’s guide for the book
available here.
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