I can't believe I'm replying to an almost four year old thread, but I just finished Tisdall's bio of Marie Fedorovna. First, I have to admit that I thought the author was a woman (Evelyn). Only just now did the bell go off about the rare usage of Evelyn as a man's name. Rightly or wrongly an awareness of the sex of a writer colors your perception of his/her work.
A mediocre book. Readable but ultimately too 'soft'. Too much quoting from "Count Vassili" and others.Also too much ready acceptance of conventional but unreliable "knowledge". And yes the idea of Nicholas being the father of illegitimate children(plural!) was pretty firmly conveyed. As was the author's contempt for Nicholas and to a lesser extent Alexandra.
And, as mentioned, too many outright factual errors. I'm just glad I read it now instead of as one of my first books on the Romanovs.
