This is lovely book looking deeply at the relationship between Queen Victoria, her daughter Alice and granddaughter Alix, more so than on the eventual fate of The Tsarina. As such, it’s a really sweet and incredibly researched book which I recommend. Seeing aspects of the person behind the historical figures is always interesting and this really shows the love and connectedness that was there.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley and the publisher for a fair review.

Queen Victoria's life is already well-mined in the literary world, so one must take some interesting side relationships in order to write a new book. Melanie Clegg's book "Empress Alexandra: The Special Relationship Between Russia's Last Tsarina and Queen Victoria" examines Queen Victoria's close relationship with her granddaughter Alix, who later marries Nicholas II to become Tsarina of Russia. The through line of this relationship is Victoria's third child, Alice, who was Alix's mother. Victoria and Alice were very close, though grew somewhat apart after Alice's marriage to Louis and move to Darmstadt where she became more independent. Princess Alice was an offspring of Victoria I did not know much about, as she on appearance does not play as big a role in history as some other children of Victoria's (e.g, Vicky who gives birth to Wilhelm II, Bertie who is a bit of a problem child who Victoria blamed partially for her husband Albert's death and becomes the future King Edward VII). Clegg describes Alice as a somewhat morose women, who appears quite frail as she ages. One of her children dies from a fall (he had hemophilia, and the book's first mention of illness that will be involved in Russia's downfall). Alice sets in motion the special relationship between Victoria and Alix as she dies of diptheria at a rather young age after having nursed her husband and children who had been stricken ill with it also. It took the life of her youngest daughter, and then Alice. As all of Alix's other grandparents are dead, Victoria takes a special interest in her life. The book focuses primarily on their relationship for the second half of the book, and Victoria's feelings about Alix's romance and ultimate marriage to Russia's Nicholas II who becomes Tsar right before they are married when his father, Tsar Alexander III dies unexpectedly without preparing Nicholas for the role he has ahead. The book ends with Victoria's death, and the reader is left to wonder what role she would have played as Alix finally gives birth to a son, and how Russia and England's relationship may or may not have changed in the events leading up to World War I. While parts of this book have been discussed at length in other great historical books, Clegg did a nice job of highlighting a relationship tying together a formidable Queen and her love for her granddaughter, the last Tsarina of Russia.

Thank you to Pen & Sword History and NetGalley for this advanced e-book for review.

Empress Alexandra by Melanie Clegg was such an interesting and informative read. She draws from Victoria's letters and journals, revealing a mother and grandmother who doted on her family. She was known as Grandmama to her granddaughter's spouses.

Clegg tells Alix's story in context of her relationship with her grandmother Queen Victoria. Alix was Queen Victoria's favorite granddaughter. Her mother Alice was the queen's companion and social secretary after the death of Prince Albert. Tragically, Alice died young.

The queen took Alice's children under her wing as a surrogate mother. They and their father Prince Louis became even closer to the monarch.

Alix was a beautiful child. At an early age, she caught her cousin Nicky's attention.

In spite of Queen Victoria's endeavors to arrange a marriage for Alix, she and and her cousin Nicky fell in love. When became Nicholas became Emperor of Russian, and Alix became Empress Alexandra, Victoria worried about her. She did not approve of the opulent lifestyle of the Russian Court, or the condition of Alicky converting to the Russian Orthodox Church. And especially, she worried about the social unrest and feared assassination attempts.

The queen loved Nicky and he enjoyed his time in Britain with her and his beloved Alix. The couple recreated a retreat inspired by British middle class style, and preferred a quiet life. When Nicky's father died, he was only twenty-six. He followed his father's autocratic style of governing.

Victoria and Albert raised their children to be self-sufficient, educating them well but also including fun and healthy activities in their lives. Alice patterned her mother's style, and so did granddaughter Alix when a mother.

Queen Victoria died in 1901 and happily never lived to know her beloved granddaughter and Tzar Nicholas and their children were assassinated in 1918.

Clegg's book is well presented, and for all the characters and royals to keep track of, I never felt confused.

The royal family suffered so many tragedies! But love also blossomed.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

A book for Victoria or Empress Alexandra lovers. This is a weighty story of Alix who would eventually be killed by the Bolsheviks., Almost a month by month story of Alix's family including her mother, Princess Alice's story and her grandmother Queen Victoria. At times, I lost track of all the characters as there were so many Prince's, Princesses and other nobility. Ideal if you want to read about Alix and her family's life from letters/journals and narrative.