I just finished reading this book and enjoyed it. Rounding discusses aspects of Nicholas and Alexandra's marriage that have not received enough attention in previous works such as the couple's friendship with Anna Viroubova, the precise nature of Alexandra's health problems (although the unhelpful term "hysteria" is still employed in a few instances), and their artistic and literary tastes. It was very interesting to know how their tastes in sentimental novels compared to the avant-garde cultural millieu of the broader Russian aristocracy. Rounding also uses sources that have been underutilized by previous authors such as Spiridovich, Hanbury-Williams, and the reports concerning the Imperial family in the British press.
My only criticism concerns the structure and footnotes of the book. At first it appears that Rounding is adopting a thematic approach to the material, addressing issues such as Russian mysticism and Alexandra's health but subsequent chapters address Alexei's birth, Bloody Sunday, and the opening of the Duma chronologically before returning to Nicholas and Alexandra's courtship in Chapter 5, which is called, "Beginnings." After this chapter, the work follows a chronological framework, except when it skips over the years covered in the opening four chapters such as 1913 and 1905. This approach would be particularly confusing for a reader learning about Nicholas and Alexandra for the first time and often results in the repetition of material. (For example, Queen Victoria's influence over Alexandra in both the health chapter and the "Beginnings" chapter). I made a similar critique of the structure of "The Russian Court at Sea" elsewhere on this forum. Also, I would have been interested to read Rounding's full footnotes and bibliography as there were some sections that I was interested to learn more about, such as the author's argument that the Imperial children were left "alone" with Rasputin, which I never thought was the case, considering the vast number of servants and security personnell surrounding the Imperial family at all times - and the number of people gossiping about Rasputin's visits to the nurseries.
Overall, an enjoyable read with an interesting new perspective on the Imperial couple.
