The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

Book title __The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia__

Author, Illustrator ___Candace Fleming_____

Publisher, Year ______ Schwartz & Wade/Random, 2014 ____________

Bibliography

Fleming, C. (2014). The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISNB: 978-0-375-86782-8

Plot Summary

Tsar Nicholas II was unprepared to inherit the throne once his father, Tsar Alexander III, passed away. In this Fleming book, readers learn the history of the Romanovs, the iconic family of Tsar Nicholas II, and the events that unfold that lead to the Russian Revolution.

Critical Analysis

Many people were introduced to the Romanovs from the 1997 movie Anastasia. While iconic and based on true events, it was not accurate. With a degree in history and a flair for writing books, Fleming has written books ranging from young readers to young adults including Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart and The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia has gained recognition and awards including the Robert F. Sibert Nonfiction Honor Book, an award that acknowledges informational books for children published in the United States. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia has gained positive attention from well-known reviews including the Kirkus Reviews and Horn Books that not only praise Fleming’s ability to captivate the readers’ attention and makes them want to learn more about the Romanovs, but how factual the information was. At the end of the book, Fleming includes two lists of bibliographies so readers can read more about the topic. One is over the general sources and the other was primary sources. The primary sources gave more depth about the fall of the Russian Empire through first-hand interactions. This can be seen in early chapters as Senka Kanatchikov expressed their arrival to Moscow and how to run down it was. Fleming also included maps, the royal family’s family tree, other online resources, notes and an index to help guide the readers.

The book is broken into five parts: introduction, before the storm, dark clouds gathering, the storm breaks, and the final days. Within each section contains chapters that go in chronological order starting in 1903 when Tsar Alexander II was killed by a bomb to 2007 when researchers found the last two bodies of the Romanov children. As a young adult book, Fleming makes sure to use language that is appropriate to the intended audience and doesn’t water down the information. This is seen when Fleming talks about the final days of the Romanovs and how the family died. What makes the book very appealing to the audience is the including of real-life pictures of the events, both during the fall for the Russian Empire and the discovery of the bodies. The photos are located in the middle and near the end of the book. They are separated based on the section they are aligned with and captioned, so readers are able to have a better understanding of the picture. One of the most iconic pictures would be on the cover of the book where a family portrait of the Romanovs is on the upper half of the book taking up two-thirds of the cover. While the bottom portion is the citizens of Russia. This represents the power, resources and wealth the Romanovs had while showing the reality their citizens faced and suffered.

Review Excerpts and Awards

·         Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Nonfiction

·         Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature

·         NCTE Orbis Pictus Award

·         Robert F. Sibert Nonfiction Honor Book

·         YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist

·         ALSC Notable Children’s Books, Older Readers, 2015

·         Booklist Editor's Choice 2014

·         Booklist Editors Top of the List for Youth Nonfiction 2014

·         Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon 2014

·         Cybils Award in Nonfiction for Young Adults 2014

·         Horn Book Fanfare 2014

·         Huffington Post Great Kid Books for Gift-Giving 2014

·         Junior Library Guild selection

·         Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book 2014

·         Los Angeles Times Literary Book Prize nominee

·         New York Public Library Best Books for Teens 2014

·         Publishers Weekly Best Young Adult Books 2014

·         SCBWI Gold Kite Award for Nonfiction

·         School Library Journal Best Book 2014

·         Wall Street Journal 2014

·         Washington Post Best Books for Kids 2014

Kirkus Review: “Award-winning author Fleming crafts an exciting narrative from this complicated history and its intriguing personalities. It is full of rich details about the Romanovs, insights into figures such as Vladimir Lenin and firsthand accounts from ordinary Russians affected by the tumultuous events. A variety of photographs adds a solid visual dimension, while the meticulous research supports but never upstages the tale.”

The Washington Post: “The book provides a strong introduction to the grime course of World War I and to the many phases of the Russian Revolution, but the narrative is driven by the story of Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, their four daughters, and their son, Alexei. Fleming doesn’t idealize the royal parents, who overindulged their children, allowed themselves to fall under the hypnotic spell of Rasputin, and didn’t even try to understand Russia’s worsening conditions.”

Connections

If you would like to learn more about Fleming other biography books, please visit the author’s website at https://www.candacefleming.com/books/biographies.html

If you are interested in learning more books about the Romanovs, please consider looking into the following books:

·         The Curse of the Romanovs, ISBN 1416902082

·         The Royal Diaries: Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 ISBN 0545535786