Turnbull (The Woman Before Wallis) again successfully humanizes a family of powerful historical figures in this look at the end of the Romanov dynasty from the vantage point of Olga Nikolaevna, oldest daughter of last czar Nicholas. The knowledge that almost every reader will have--that Olga, her siblings, and parents will be executed in 1917 after the Russian Revolution--gives the novel a tragic patina from the outset (the ending is previewed by a prologue recounting a prophecy, made at Olga's birth in 1896, that she would die before the age of 30). Turnbull begins in 1907 with a health scare that demonstrates the limits of royal lineage and power, as Olga's hemophiliac brother Alexei's severe illness prompts a fear that he will die young, a tragedy their mother believes was averted by the intercession of mystic Grigori Rasputin. Each chapter brings Olga closer to her doom, as the Romanovs are eventually imprisoned in the ironically named Freedom House. Though the tragic story has been fictionalized effectively in novels such as Carolyn Meyer's Anastasia and Her Sisters, Turnbull adds to the lore by focusing on a more obscure Romanov, with a gift at making Olga's situation painfully tangible. This amply justifies taking another look at the lives of the condemned royals. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Olga Nikolaevna, oldest child of Tsar Nikolas Romanov, has seen her world change, from a childhood of palaces and horse-drawn carriages to a young adulthood ravaged by war and her father's fall from power. Olga and her sisters lead a cloistered life in an effort to conceal the family's greatest secret: the hemophilia of youngest child and heir, Alexie. The story launches with the family desperate to save toddler Alexie's life when they meet priest Gregori Rasputin, who mystically pulls the boy back from the brink. This meeting and the events that transpire after it demonstrate how the tsar and tsarina's desperation, secrecy, and unwillingness to see the changing world surrounding them were key elements in their family's ultimate demise. The Last Grand Duchess depicts a real family, with all their eccentricities and dynamics, while weaving in key details of the real Romanovs, their friends, and their families. Complete with an author's note and a bibliography that would charm any librarian, this historical fiction depicts the final years of the Romanovs in a way that feels both inspired and truthful.

This second historical novel by Turnbull (who earned plaudits and delight with The Woman Before Wallis, about the woman loved by Edward VIII before Mrs. Simpson) traces the final decade in the life of Grand Duchess Olga, the oldest of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra's five children. Turnbull uses primary sources from the Romanov historical record (including Olga's diaries, first published in English in 2013) to portray Olga as the girl next door. Modest, smart, and compassionate, she is the role model for her three sisters and a protector of her afflicted brother, the heir. Yet there is a raging romantic streak in Olga's soul that her stern, imperial mother cannot quench. Turnbull pries off the veneer that masked Olga as a blue-blooded victim of the Bolshevik Revolution; instead she gives Olga a three-dimensional personhood with a verve that evokes Scarlett O'Hara. Judiciously, Turnbull also tracks profound fault lines in the Romanov ruling couple and in Russian culture that led to the assassination of all seven Romanovs in 1918. VERDICT Compared to the huge trove of books about the Romanovs and their pretenders, Turnbull's novel is an entrancing tribute to a Victorian lass of tragic grace.--Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA