The Rebel Romanov
Julie of Saxe-Coburg, the Empress Russia Never Had
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes the story of a courageous young Imperial Grand Duchess who scandalized Europe in search of freedom.
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A storybook romance gives way to a marital nightmare and then a rebellious escape in this sparkling biography. Historian Rappaport (After the Romanovs) recaps the life of Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a German duke's daughter who in 1796 was married off at the age of 14 to 16-year-old Russian prince Konstantin Romanov. At first Julie was dazzled by Konstantin, but after the wedding she became the victim of his escalating psychopathy. (His bizarre cruelties included locking her in a room filled with mice and trying to rip off her dress in public.) Her parents were no help (instead pestering her for money), but in 1801, after rumors circulated that Julie was having an affair, czar Alexander I allowed her to leave Russia. She ended up in Switzerland, establishing herself as a charismatic socialite. Not granted a divorce until 1820, her affairs continued apace. High society was at first sympathetic but eventually grew scandalized when she had a child with a married doctor. Julie later came to be considered uniquely "lost" to history, as her siblings were all successfully married off by their strategically minded mother into powerful European dynasties. Rappaport provides an elegant study of how these machinations had a devastating personal cost for Julie, and how she fought back with freethinking attitudes about love. It's a captivating historical saga of a woman in revolt.
