Eighteen-year-old Princess Minnie knows that her life's mission is to leave her native Denmark and marry the Russian Tsarevich Alexander from the Romanov family. After Alexander ascends to the throne, Minnie, now called Maria Fyodorovna, becomes Empress and gradually builds a warm relationship with her new homeland. However, resistance to the tsarist regime directly affects her family, and after her husband decides to crush all who oppose him, Maria must tread carefully along the paths of compromise. After Alexander's death, their inexperienced son Nicholas takes over the rule of a deeply divided and declining empire. Maria tries to guide her son towards reforms that would bring Russia into the modern world. However, she faces opposition from her daughter-in-law Alexandra, who is also influenced by a mystic named Rasputin. Russia is engulfed in the flames of revolution, and Maria confronts the most difficult obstacles and the deepest sorrow. This novel, based on real historical events, introduces readers to the splendor of St. Petersburg's palaces, salons overflowing with intrigue, the battlefields of World War I, and the bloodied countryside dominated by the Bolsheviks. C. W. Gortner, the author of several successful historical novels, presents readers with a dynamic story narrated by Maria herself,…
