TL;DR: This was such a surprising win. An attentive and fascinating biography of a woman I’d never heard of.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!
Plot: Julie of Sax-Coburg is married off at 16 to a man who has more than a few screws loose, and she strives to escape him and his shadow.
Setting: We follow Julie as she moves from Germany to Russia then on to other locations, so it roams quite a bit over Europe.
Readability: This was absolutely gripping, I couldn’t stop reading this one.
Summary:
In 1795, Catherine the Great of Russia was in search of a bride for her grandson Constantine, who stood third in line to her throne. In an eerie echo of her own story, Catherine selected an innocent young German princess, Julie of Saxe-Coburg, aunt of the future Queen Victoria. Though Julie had everything a young bride could wish for, she was alone in a court dominated by an aging empress and riven with rivalries, plotting, and gossip―not to mention her brute of a husband, who was tender one moment and violent the next. She longed to leave Russia and her disastrous marriage, but her family in Germany refused to allow her to do so.
Desperate for love, Julie allegedly sought consolation in the arms of others. Finally, Tsar Alexander granted her permission to leave in 1801, even though her husband was now heir to the throne. Rootless in Europe, Julie gave birth to two―possibly three―illegitimate children, all of whom she was forced to give up for adoption. Despite entreaties from Constantine to return and provide an heir, she refused, eventually finding love with her own married physician.
At a time when many royal brides meekly submitted to disastrous marriages, Julie proved to be a woman ahead of her time, sacrificing her reputation and a life of luxury in exchange for the freedom to live as she wished. The Rebel Romanov is the inspiring tale of a bold woman who, until now, has been ignored by history.
Thoughts:
I am always delighted when I pick up a historical biography on a whim, especially of someone I’ve never heard of, and it is a solid gold winner. As a kid I’d do this and into adulthood it’s become even harder to do. This though, this did it. Julie of Saxe-Coburg is no one I knew about, but Helen Rappaport writes about her with such attention and care that I ended this loving her.
Julie was married off to the grandson of Catherine the Great at the young age of 16. Brought over from Germany she was left in his hands, and he at the very least mistreated her but possibly simply abused her. For years she distanced herself and eventually found an excuse to flee and this book follows her trying to escape and find her own life.
It’s an absolutely fascinating read. I have little to no knowledge about Russian history, so I can’t attest to any accuracy here, but I desperately want to read more, because this definitely sparked some interest. If you love biographies or Russian history, pick this up.
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