This has been one of my favourite books of 2022, but I was hesitant to post this review. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a backlash against anything remotely relating to Russia. However, Bryn Turnbull is a Canadian author- and a talented author- and this is a fictional book set in Tsarist Russia, and I think that a lot of my readers will enjoy this book. While Anastasia still receives the lion’s share of the attention in terms of the four grand duchesses, Olga, Tatiana, and Maria are no less interesting. This fictional peak into Olga’s life is busy and exciting and heartbreaking, and a must-read for anyone interested in the Romanovs. Without further adieu, let’s get into The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (I purchased the audiobook myself.)
The Last Grand Duchess, Bryn Turnbull
Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the Tsarina has come to rely. Olga’s only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from her aunt, who takes pity on her and her sister Tatiana, inviting them to grand tea parties amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg. Finally, she glimpses a world beyond her mother’s Victorian sensibilities—a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.
But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia’s military officers. As troubling rumours about her parents trickle in from the Front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end 300 years of Romanov rule.
At turns glittering and harrowing, The Last Grand Duchess is a story about dynasty, duty, and love, but above all, it’s the story of a family who would choose devotion to each other over everything—including their lives.
Why You Should Read This…
I have been waiting for this book for what feels like years, and it did not disappoint. Turnbull’s first novel The Woman Before Wallis brings to life another woman on the edge of a popular story (Thelma Morgan Furness, to be replaced by Wallis Simpson), and The Last Grand Duchess has continued that in the best way.
Olga is often remembered solely for being the oldest of the children, the O in OTMA, and half of a pair with Tatiana. However, she was a distinct and individual young woman who led her own life. I think that Turnbull creates a plausible telling of Olga’s life, and gives her a voice that few others do.
My favourite element of this story is seeing Olga’s interactions with her cousins and other members of the court, in particular Prince Felix Yusapov. We always get his story of the racy, playboy prince who murdered Rasputin, but this provides an interesting perspective on his life. Her interactions with everyone also highlight just how unbelievably sheltered these four girls were, and how little they knew outside of their very (constructed) middle-class and controlled life.
Mary Jane Wells narrated the audiobook of TLGD (as she did with The Woman Before Wallis), and she was the perfect choice again. Her accent work is fantastic, and doesn’t bring you out of the story at all. She also handles a variety of ages (and genders) well- she is a narrator I look out for!
Is The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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