Books on Empress Marie

[grandduchessella]

In English, the Coryne Hall book is the only recent one. Beside the Tisdall book, there was one by V. Poliakoff. It's been reprinted in the last few years though since some of the royal books publishers.

In Russian, her wartime diaries have been published as has her correspondence with AIII (really makes me wish I could read Russian!) and there was the Danish exhibition catalog a few years ago that had articles on her interspered but it's almost impossible to find.  

[Svetabel]

and there was the Danish exhibition catalog a few years ago that had articles on her interspered but it's almost impossible to find.  

I saw this catalogue only at one library! Good book with Danish and English text, really a rare find.

[dp5486]

By chance, has anyone come upon any information on Marie's faithful servants in any of her biographies? I know she had a faithful maid, Kiki, and two Cossack bodyguards named Poliakov and Yashchek.

Thanks!

[lancashireladandre]

By chance, has anyone come upon any information on Marie's faithful servants in any of her biographies? I know she had a faithful maid, Kiki, and two Cossack bodyguards named Poliakov and Yashchek.

Thanks!

Kiki was Mlle Greenveld.The 2 body guards were still in receipt of pensions from the british crown some years after Marie's death in 1928.

[dp5486]

lancashireladandre, thank you for clarifying. Did the Dowager Empress have another maid with the last name Vassilievna or was it just Kiki Greenveld?

Thanks again!

[bkg]

About two years ago, I saw an advertisement for a book that was to be released in 2004.  The title was "Maria & Alexandra -  A Tale of Two Sisters: The Tsarina of Russia and the Queen of Great Britian".

The author was Natalia Vulovic and it was to be presented by Leppi Publications.  I have never been able to find this book. Have e-mailed the publisher a couple times with no response.  Cannot find it on Amazon or anywhere.  Has anyone else heard of this book?

[Zanthia]

Yes, I have heard of it. I just remembered that title when I read your question. It is mentioned on a dutch page: www.hoogstraten.nl/html/royalhistory.html

But it does'nt have any price listed, and I can't figure out how to order. It is an illustrated book, judging by the list. It sounds interesting. I sure would like to have that one.

[grandduchessella]

I had seen that too and was really excited. The publisher, Leppi, did the Romanovs: Lover, Power and Tragedy book and the book on the Montenegrins--both really good, thick books chock full of great photos.

I had asked around since then when it didn't appear, including e-mailing Hoogstraten and apparently there's no upcoming publication date. I don't know if it's just a delay (a really long one) or if the book has been scrapped.

[Linnea]

Any news on this book? It does sound so wonderful, it simlpy has to be published.

[Alixz]

Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and  Her Times by V. Poliakoff coypright 1926 was published just before The Tragic Bride by the same author.

I bought the books as a companion set.

I loved Tragic Bride but was disappointed in MOther Dear.  I was hoping for a lot of information of Marie's life as Tsarenva and there wasn't much.

Poliakoff talks about her entry into Russia and her wedding day and suddenly Alexander II is murdered.  Then there is the coronation and almost as fast Alexander II dies.  Alix of Hess is sent for, but little is said about the engagement except that Marie wanted Nicholas to marry Helene of France.

Of course, Poliakoff had little of the information that we have today as he wrote in the 1920s and he even mentions that grand Duchess Ella was a remarkable woman and he is sure that her biography will be written someday.

But I was looking for more "meat" to be added to the bones of the story of Princess Dagmar becoming Empress Marie and other bios I have read offered much much more.

One interesting thing he says is that she chose Feodorovna as her patronomic because is was as close to Frederick as she could get.  I had not heard that interpretation before.

The other interesting information is on the coronation and Khodynka Field in 1883.  No problems with this use of the field.  According to Poliakoff "Before entering the field each person had received in the name of the Emperor one pound of sweets, two pies and an enamelled drinking cup with the Imperial initials and eagle upon it."  Is this different from 1896?  I had always thought that the people began to run at Nicholas's coronation because the tables were inside the field and they had to get inside to get the party favors and that what was caused the original crush which just got worse and worse.

I am glad that I have both books as they do make a complimentary set as both are bound in the same color with the same gold print and double headed eagle on the cover.

[Svetabel]

Just info:

A new book in Russian on Empress Maria Fedorovna, spouse of Emperor Alexander III. It's a sort of photoalbum, coffe-table like edition, a good addition to anyone's collection of books on the Romanovs

Y. Kudrina. Empress Maria Fedorovna., by publisihing house Beliy Gorod, 2006. The ISBN 5-7793-0933-7.

Contains well-known and rare images, photos,paintings of Maria Fedorovna, her relatives, family.

[Eddie_uk]

Awesome!! Thank you Svetabel, will look out for that!!! Marie is one of my favourites!!

[Linnea]

The book is in Russian, isnīt it?

[Svetabel]

The book is in Russian, isnīt it?

In Russian 

[Teddy]

For me it's a mystery what happened with the photoalbums of Maria F. Because she was also one of the earliest keen photographers in the Russian Imperial Family. She liked to be photographed and do it herself, so were are all those photographs?