Rasputin's Daughter

by: Robert Alexander

Published by: Viking (January 2006 Release)

Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann, Chanhassen (MN) Librarian

This historical fiction is the story of the last weeks of the life of Grigori Rasputin, the mythic Russian religious healer and advisor to Tsar Nicholas and Tsaritsa Alexandra, in the years before their execution.

An illiterate and uneducated peasant from Siberia, he became both beloved and reviled by the powers in Russia, and by the people. Rasputin's daughter, Matryona Grigorievna, or Maria, was only 18 when her father was murdered. She had always adored and respected her father, but during the last months of his life, she discovered some distasteful truths about him.

She had a hard time reconciling the kind, generous man she had always seen, with the man who was sleeping with the housekeeper while his wife was at home in Siberia, and who abused some of his petitioners. Rasputin helped all who came to him, some with advice, some with one of his notes that asked that whatever the petitioner wanted should be granted; some with money. The powerful, the affluent and the nobility showered him with gifts of money and food, and they also came to him for influence.

The vast dichotomy of the disease, turbulence and poverty of the time, against the small but obscenely wealthy aristocracy living in their insular palaces and served by hundreds of retainers, is depicted perfectly.

Alexander's long familiarity with Russia, the language, the customs, and the history is evident here (he has been traveling there for nearly 30 years). Extensive research has paid off in a fascinating chronicle. Secretive, outlawed religious cults, and murderous plots by corrupt government officials and nobility are part of the narrative. Alexander has included snippets of the poetry of Alexander Blok and the beloved Pushkin, a rare pleasure. The book includes an epilogue, a chronology, and a glossary.

Check the web site www.rasputinsdaughter.com for photographs, narrative, and more background on the era.

Armchair Interviews says: With mesmerizing characters, and an evocative atmosphere Alexander has created an informative and enjoyable book full of historical insight into a tumultuous era. This would make an interesting book club selection