At first I thought the book was misleading, as it focused on Alexandra's mother and her relationship with Queen Victoria.
However, that back story was important to explain the importance of Victoria's role in Alexandra's life.
All in all, this was an interesting book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

208 pages

5 stars

This book gives a comprehensive study of the relationship between granddaughter Alix and her formidable grandmother, Queen Victoria of England.

Alix was the daughter of Victoria's second eldest daughter named Alice. Alice's upbringing and personality were thoroughly covered and described. She and her mother, Victoria, had a somewhat combative relationship, but it was evident that they did love one another. (perhaps they were too much alike – both headstrong.) When she showed a marked interest in Nicholas the tsarevich of Russia, Victoria's feathers were definitely ruffled.

Queen Victoria thought that the Russians were “decadent and degenerate.” I tried very hard to feel generous toward Queen Victoria, but her opinions and passive/aggressive treatment of her daughters and granddaughters drove me up the wall. I allow some leeway for the time in which she lived, but she really seemed to be a controlling old bat. She must have drove her relatives to distraction. When poor Alix was the only granddaughter left unmarried, what chance did she have?

I read a book about the life of “Minnie” Tsar Nicholas II's mother some time ago called “The Romanov Empress,” by C.W. Gortner and I got the distinct impression that Minnie did not care for Alix at all. She found her spoiled and opinionated. Both she and her husband Tsar Alexander III thought that Alix would be a major mistake for Nicholas and his reign. (And look how it turned out.) Interesting how these two formidable women viewed young Alix so differently.

It turned out that both sets of relatives finally gave their assent to the match, albeit with grudging and lingering doubts. Following the unexpected death of his father, the unready Nicholas was catapulted onto the throne. He felt little prepared for it. Alix was a somewhat standoffish young woman, and Queen Victoria presaged that this would not be to her benefit now that she was Empress and had to be friendly to all people. She was judged to be “aloof and unfriendly” by Nicholas' family and courtiers. Victoria, too, became concerned that they were shutting themselves away too much.

They were right...

This book shows the author's exhaustive research and attention to detail. Ms. Clegg was very careful to differentiate between all the Victoria's and other similar names. I really appreciated that aspect of her writing. It was not written in such a dry manner that it turned the casual reader away. This material is accessible to all readers of all interest levels. I found the material very interesting. I knew that Alix was Victoria's granddaughter, but was unaware of their close and sometimes rocky relationship until now. I am very glad that I was chosen to read this advanced review copy of the book. I immediately went to Amazon to peruse the rest of Ms. Clegg's books.

I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword/Pen & Sword History for forwarding to me a copy of this very interesting and educational book for me to read, enjoy and review.

The tragic end of the Romanov dynasty in Russia is well known. What most forget is that the Empress (and the other members of the family) had cousins, parents and grandparents. Queen Victoria was a formidable figure in history, known as "the Grandmother of European royalty". Her favorite granddaughter was Alix of Hesse, known after her marriage to Czar Nicholas II as Alexandra.

Alix's mother Alice was Victoria's third child and second daughter, and was known within the family as a caregiver. Alice nursed her father Prince Albert during his final illness and served as an unofficial secretary to her grieving mother Queen Victoria in the aftermath. Her wedding to Grand Duke Louis of Hess of Germany was likened more to a funeral than a wedding. Alice and Louis welcomed 6 children, one died, age 2, from hemophilia after a fall from a balcony.When Alix was 6 years old her mother and younger sister Marie died within a short period from each other from diphtheria. When Alice died leaving Alex with no mother, Victoria took it upon herself to act as her mother, to advise and guide her. Victoria was a prolific letter writer, and dispensed advice (which she fully expected and demanded adherence to) in frequent letters to her vast extended family.

Alix, known as one of the most beautiful royal women in Europe, was shy and uncomfortable around strangers. As a child she was known as "Sunny", but that side of her personality was only shown to close family. As a teenager Alix met the Russian heir Nicholas and the two were very smitten. There was opposition to a discussion of marriage between the two on both sides of the family as well as a strong reluctance in Alix to convert from the Lutheran faith to Russian Orthodoxy. The matchmaker of her family, her elder sister Ella (who was married to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich) worked to allay her fears about converting. Queen Victoria, after corresponding and meeting with Nicholas, and Nicholas' parents finally agreed to an engagement. So Alix accepted Nicholas' marriage proposal. Later that year, Nicholas' father, Czar Alexander III became mortally ill and she was summoned to Russia to support her fiance. The Czar died on November 1, shortly after she arrived and Nicholas became Czar. They were married on November 26, 1894, not quite 4 weeks after the Czars death. The marriage so soon after the death of the Czar was seen by many superstitious Russians as a bad omen.

Alexandra, as she was now known, was uncomfortable at the Russian court. She was not a social person, other than with her close family, and did not feel welcomed by most of the Russian court. Her primary role was to provide a male heir to the throne, which she finally did in 1904 after the birth of 4 daughters. Her health had been fragile for years, and she was not reluctant to use that as an excuse to get out of socializing. She and her husband were both content to isolate themselves in the palace and live a fairly simple life (as compared to the famously opulent lifestyle of other members of the Romanov family and Russian aristocracy). After her marriage Alexandra and Nicholas visited her grandmother only once, in the autumn 1896, with their first child Olga, whom Victoria adored and declared a most beautiful fat baby. Victoria died in early 1901, and Alexandra was prevented from attending her funeral because she was pregnant.

Queen Victoria was very controlling and opinionated. She had very specific ideas on how to behave and morality. The Victorian Age reflects that very traditional view of the roles of men, women and how they should behave and fit into society. Knowing all that, she loved her family and expressed that love by offering frequent advice, interfering and meddling in their lives, for what she honestly believed was for their own good. Alexandra was traumatized as a child by the death of her mother and 2 siblings. As a younger daughter she felt abandoned when her older siblings married and moved away, especially her eldest sisters Ella and Irene. Fortunately, there is a wonderful archive of letters between Victoria and Alexandra that clearly show a strong and loving relationship. Victoria lived a long and interesting life, unfortunately, the same can not be said for Alexandra. The tragedy that she was a carrier of hemophilia directly through her grandmother as well as the unsuitability of her personality to fit into Russian society and therefore be a figure of suspicion is haunting.

I'm fascinated by history and I've read several books about the Romanov family and Queen Victoria, they are fascinating subjects. This book is a wonderful addition to my understanding of the people behind the facade of royalty, making them so relatable and human. The book is laid out logically and the prose is wonderful I want to thank NetGalley for the advance copy that I read in exchange for this honest review.

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.