The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

By: Candace Fleming

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Eugene Alper, Mark Deakins, Julia Emelin, Gleb Kaminer, Rustam Kasymov, Paul Michael, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs - at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using compelling first person accounts, award-winning author Candace Fleming (Amelia Lost; The Lincolns) deftly maneuvers between the imperial family’s extravagant lives and the plight of Russia's poor masses, making this an utterly mesmerizing listen as well as a perfect resource for meeting Common Core standards.

©2014 Candace Fleming (P)2014 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature

Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction

A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

A YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist

Winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction 

“[A] superb history...In these thrilling, highly readable pages, we meet Rasputin, the shaggy, lecherous mystic... we visit the gilded ballrooms of the doomed aristocracy; and we pause in the sickroom of little Alexei, the hemophiliac heir who, with his parents and four sisters, would be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918.” (The Wall Street Journal)

"For readers who regard history as dull, Fleming’s extraordinary book is proof positive that, on the contrary, it is endlessly fascinating, absorbing as any novel, and the stuff of an altogether memorable reading experience." (Booklist, starred review) 

terrible narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

a decent narrator, it was as if the narrators were telling a story to a bunch of first graders

What was most disappointing about Candace Fleming’s story?

everything

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment in the audio performance

Astonishing

this book had me on edge, from me only knowing the cartoon movie about Anastacia and not really knowing the Romanov family history, this book really informed me of the Russian history... I was amazed at the detail of events that happened to this family and how destroyed and destructive Russia was until the fall of the royal family.. I would definitely recommend listening to this book.. even hearing what was written from the diaries of the royal family and other who interacted with them was interesting and touching..

I thrilling history lesson.

Sometimes The true history is more interesting than fiction. I enjoyed the suspense as well as the learning. The narrator was mostly average.

THE LAST ROYAL FAMILY

Candace Fleming offers an intimate look at the life and death of the last royal family of the Czarist empire. The intimacy of the profile is reinforced by personal letters, contemporary literature, and historical accounts of the 1917 Russian revolution. Fleming reaches back to the beginning of Czar Nicholas’s reign 23 years earlier and ends with the families slaughter in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia. East of Moscow and southeast of St. Petersburg.

Fleming offers an interesting and intimate view of the last Czar’s family. It is not laudatory but one comes away from the story feeling that the death of Nicholas and his family, like Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, were the result of changing times; not their ineffective, injudicious rule. They deserved to be dethroned but not murdered.

Money, power, and prestige corrupts all human beings–rich, poor, religious, or secular. Democratic regulation; not autocracy, social justice; not vigilantism, peace; not war are the needs of society.

Good introduction to this family

I liked this book. it was a good introduction to the last Tsar and his family. Probably not the in depth history that some might want, but a good starter for a rookie like me.

A fascinating history written directly and simply

Would you listen to The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia again? Why?

Yes. A very interesting subject matter. To savor all the details again. Lots of people and facts to remember.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator is pretty bad. She reads this complex, tragic history as though she's talking to a class of third graders. Her tone sometimes sounds like she's reading Red Riding Hood. She simply can't get the elementary school teacher tone out of her voice. It diminishes the "heavy" subject matter and makes it seem less history and more a Grimm's fairy tale.

The introduction of heavily accented male voices in the narrative also makes some of the words hard to decipher.

Any additional comments?

A subject like this should be read with a more "adult" voice.

Enjoyed the history, detail and her performance.

Would you listen to The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia again? Why?

Yes, I always revisit a good book, movie, play and now audio performance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia?

The description of peasant life was riveting, also, the details of Rasputin's life, influence on the Romanov family, his murder and the final moments of the family's execution.

Have you listened to any of Kimberly Farr and Various ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Great listening

Detail story of Romanov Dynasty describing historical facts of not only daily life of imperial family but many important historical invents at that period of time. Easy to adopt to own knowledge and enjoyable performance of the narrators. Recommending with confidence.

Great book and great read

Author did wonderful job contrasting Romanov family life with political life and against the lives of the peasants. This is a really fun read.

Captivating

This was a very captivating read/listen. Narrator did well to hold interest the whole time. The pairing of the story of the Romanov's with the daily life if many of its citizens was jaw dropping at the extremes. Learning about the prelude to the fall of the Romanov dynasty and the rising of the bolsheviks was sad in that the real victims were the Russian people. They wanted bread, freedom and land and didn't get it from any of their power hungry leaders. They are a resilient people with a captivating history.

Brought to tears

A wonderfully rounded and eye opening story of the Russian revolution from the Nickolas himself to the very peasants who worked the country side. A good listen for any interested in this interesting and dark piece of history.

Great introduction to Russia under Nicolas II

An interesting and informative read. I really enjoyed listening to it. would recommend to anyone wanting to find out more about the revolution, but not wanting to get too bogged down in the political intricacies of the period.

family circle

I don't think until you hear the story you appreciate the sadness of it all

The Family Romanov

An excellent book. For anyone who is interested in the history of the Romanovs, this book is a must. Historically accurate and well read, I enjoyed every second.