This was a very interesting book, as it's so easy to label a historical figure as a 'monster' when all you know about them are rumours and speculation.
The author does an incredible job in trying to research Rasputin's origins, but unfortunately there's a lot of guesswork involved.
I don't feel this book achieved it's aim to turn Rasputin's reputation around, as there's just too much evidence in the opposite direction.

I wasn’t so sure about this book. It was interesting to try and have Rasputin seem like a “good guy” but I couldn’t tell if the author truly meant it or if this was more of a historical fiction read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

I really didn’t care for this book. I’ve read of about the Romanov’s a while back and I thought it was interesting and it wasn’t fair what happened to czar Nicholas and his family. They were betrayed by Rasputin. There has been a rumor since the night the Romanov’s were murdered that one of the czars daughters actually survived but it’s just rumor and it hasn’t been proved

I found this book a bit weird, and full of speculation, although written in a lively and fast-paced way. Mayhew tries to be sympathetic to both Rasputin and Alexandra, and restore the Empress's reputation. Where this book falls down is his attempting to be understanding about Rasputin, and Alexandra's blindness towards his faults, which was pretty stupid, no matter how you look at it. He excuses Rasputin's sexual escapades to a large extent, and even writes that his visits to prostitutes were mainly platonic! What evidence is there for that?

He analyses Empress Alexandra and the Tsar's personalities well. They were desperate to help their son, the heir to the throne, and Rasputin was the only one whose 'healing' worked. However, in the face of investigations by the newspapers, and warnings by relatives and Ministers, they continued to seek the assistance of this 'mad monk', and even listened to his advice about the government!

It's one thing to be understanding about the royal couple, but quite another to try to sympathise with Rasputin, a completely evil man who did nothing out of the goodness of his heart, and apparently had countless affairs with women in the upper-classes. His influence drove everyone around the Tsar and his wife mad, and it was no wonder that he was murdered in an especially nasty fashion!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book would've been better as a drinking game, but youd' be drunk before finishing an entire chaper if that were the case.
Take a shot if:
Every time the author tries to convince you, the reader, that Rasputin was just a harmless, mostly drunk, sex addicted monk rather than the horrible person he actually was (probably)

Every time the author uses the word "convulsed" but isn't using it to describe somebody ACTUALLY convulsing

Every time the author tries to make it seem like Tsarina Alexndra was just a hot mess of a woman, which admittedly she probably was in real life, but Jesus, this author just makes her seem way worse than she probably actually was and I kind of have a problem with that

Every time you read somebody's last name and think "That is the fakest last name I've ever heard." even though it's probably real

Trust me, if you treat this book like a drinking game (and feel free to add your own rules), it's much easier to get through even though you will be basically stupid drunk by the end of the first couple of chapters.

Well, I offically got Rasputin by Boney M stuck in my head and I don't know how to get it out. I also have the urge to watch Anastasia again. 😆😆 Other than that, this was a really interesting read. I'm not much of a non-fiction reader but I'm always willing to make an exception for history, I love learning about historical royal figures, especially ones as famous as Rasputin and Tsarina Alexandra. There are so many theories on the relationship between these two, mostly focusing on whether or not they've had a romantic affair. That romance is literally the focus of the Boney M song 😅😅 However, this book has a fresh take on that relationship, as well as more a sympathetic view of the Queen whose main concern was the well-being of her son, and her best option at helping him was Rasputin.

If you are a fan of history, this is definitely the book for you.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review. My opinions are my own.

Mayhew has used a wide range of sources, from books to media sources. This is evident in the way they write.

The book was easy to follow due to its story-like structure, however, I felt that this format also gave it some downsides.

Although there are references in the book, I don’t think there are enough as many facts or statements do not have in-text references, citations, or footnotes. It is clear that the book has been thoroughly researched through a variety of sources, but I would have preferred a direct reference to each source so I could see exactly where they got it from. This makes it easier to judge the argument the historian is making and weigh its pros and cons.

Without citations, it’s hard to distinguish between fact and opinion as the book is written in a fiction-like format, reading more like a story. There are dialogues between characters that do not have a citation showing which source the evidence came from. This made me very hesitant to believe the contents of the book because there weren’t any citations to show that they did nod their heads, squeeze another person’s hands, or extinguish cigarettes.

Furthermore, for a history book, I found it lacked debate and analysis. Traditionally, when a historian puts forward an argument, they make a statement, discuss both sides of the debate as it stands, and then they give their own interpretation. Their interpretation may include further evidence towards their side of the argument. I felt that this book wasn’t structured in a way that would allow for this because it was formatted like a story. It would have broken the pacing of the book.

Overall, I rate it 1/5 stars because I cannot tell what is speculation or fact for most of the book. When I read a nonfiction book, I want to know where the argument is coming from. I like the analysis side of history books. If this were categorised as a well-researched historical fiction novel, I would have rated it 4/5 because the dialogue can be quite well thought-out. This can’t be used as an academic history book but could be useful as an outline for non-academic purposes.


Would I recommend it? No. Not unless you treat it as historical fiction or more citations are added.

Brilliant book on the connection between Russian queen Alexandra and Rasputin. One of the best which I read on that topic. The book presents a good historical background of Tsar’s Russia and the tragic end of the Romanovs. I highly recommend this book to people interested in the history of Russia.

I enjoyed reading this new look at the last Russian Tsarina Alexandra. I mean history hasn’t painted her in a very good light. But this book takes a new look at her. Looks at her as a mother who was worried for her only son. A son who thanks to Russian law was the only heir to the throne. When her oldest daughter would have been a much better heir. She was also a woman who grew up sheltered and unprepared to be Empress though she was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. But she loved her children and husband and it was most likely that love that made her an easy target for Rasputin. Which is the view that this book takes. A view I think is a more truthful view of the Tsarina.