Julia P. GelardiReseñas

This was an enjoyable read about three sets of mothers and daughters who sat on European thrones. Isabella of Castile and Catherine of Aragon are the first profiled. We read of Isabella's iconic reign and her daughter's equally iconic downfall as Queen of England. Next comes Maria Theresa of Austria and Marie Antoinette of France. Here again, we see a daughter's reign eclipsed by the brilliancy of her mother's. And finally, we see Queen Victoria of England and her daughter the Empress Frederick of Germany. Victoria's reign proved to be nothing short of monumental while her daughter's time on the throne is just a footnote in history. All told, the three daughters we read about never achieved the success that their mothers did.

Extremely interesting reading for anyone interested in European royal history.

Queen Isabella of Castile and her daughter, Catherine of Aragon first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII.
Queen Victoria of England and her daughter, Vicky the Empress Frederick of Germany.
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and her infamous daughter Marie Antoinette Queen of France.
Did the ambitions of these strong female monarchs push their daughters into political situations that were well over their head? Clearly they did make marriages.

5612. From Splendor to Revolution The Romanov Women, 1847-1928, by Julia P. Gelardi (read 4 Feb 2019) This is a 2011 book by a pretty careful researcher and relates the lives of 4 women who were major figures during the years indicated in the title. These women were Marie Feodorova. a sister of King Edward VII's wife and the wife of Czar Alexander III; Marie Pavlovna, the wife of Czar Alexander III's brother Vladimer; Marie Alexandrovna, a daughter of Czar Alexander II who married Queen Victoria's second son Alfred, and Olga, a daughter of Constantine, (brother of Czar Alexander II)and wife of George I of Greece. Some of the text is about trivial things, since none of the women were sovereigns but all were wives of sovereigns or would-be sovereigns. (Vladimir would have been glad to succeed Alexander III if Nicholas, Alexander III's son had not done so.). There are family trees in the book but they are not excessively clear. And the jumping from one woman to another requires the reader to be alert and frequently refer to the family tables to remain oriented. But there is a lot of interesting history involved so the book at times is exciting. But one could not be excessively sad when the splendor ceased since the splendor was so excessive. The author is friendly to the Romanovs and one can be sympathetic to them when their world changes so drastically in 1917.½

The history of five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters. Alexandra, the shy and proud queen of Russia; Marie, the dramatic and empathic queen of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, who introduced hemophilia into the heirs of Spain; Maud, the bourgeoisie queen of Norway; and Sophie, who was so maligned as the sister to the hated Kaiser Wilhelm II that she lost her throne in Greece. The book doesn't have much focus, nor does it have a thesis; it's merely a collection of biographies that wouldn't stand alone on their own. Frustratingly, Gelardi switches from one queen to the next in a matter of paragraphs, making it hard to get a feel for each of their personalities. Still, Gelardi has a clear grasp of history and uses quotes from the queens' correspondence to good effect. I came away with a slightly better understanding of each queen and a much better feel for European history after WWI.

This book discusses Isabella of Castile & her daughter Catherine of Aragon, Empress Maria Theresa & her daughter the ill-fated Marie Antoinette, and Queen Victoria & her daughter Vicky. It was a very short biography and if you've read about any of the monarchs previously it is mostly a review. However, I enjoyed how the book would bring up similarities that one pair had with another.

Covering the years 1847 to 1928, From Splendor to Revolution chronicles the grand but difficult lives of four women who were born or married into the Romanov dynasty: an empress, a grand duchess, a queen and a duchess, each a generation older than Russia’s final tsar, Nicolas II. By this time England’s monarchy was constitutional, and Queen Victoria’s political power came from her cunning, and her skill at marrying her children and grandchildren into strategically important European royal families. Russia, however, was still ruled by tsars who believed their autocracy and duty to serve were divinely commissioned. The royal family lived in unimaginable grandeur before the Russian revolution, but even in those high times political unrest meant they had to cope with well-founded fears of death and mutilation, and the shockingly brutal murders of some of their dearest family members.

Marie Feodorovna, or Minnie, was the last tsar’s mother. Originally a Danish princess she married and moved to Russia at 18 where her engaging personality helped make her popular with the people, and she became the empress only fifteen years later when her father-in-law Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Minnie was a voice of reason when her son and daughter-in-law were under the destructive spell of Rasputin, but later she could never bring herself to believe that Tsar Nicolas II had been murdered along with his wife and children, even though she lived a decade after their deaths.

Marie Pavlovna, or Miechen, was Minnie’s sister-in-law, married to her husband’s brother Vladimir, and Miechen was a highly skilled, savvy and ambitious socialite. Pious and sweet Olga, who became the Queen of Greece, was the daughter of Alexander II’s brother Constantine. Marie Alexandrovna was the sister of Alexander III, and so the sister-in-law of Minnie and Miechen. After the early death of her sister, Marie Alexandrovna was the only surviving daughter of Alexandra II, and was so beloved and spoiled by him that she might never have been persuaded to leave her father’s side if he hadn’t angered the family by taking a mistress, who he eventually moved into the palace with their born out of wedlock children. As a means of escape, Marie Alexandrovna married Queen Victoria’s wayward son Alfred, brother of King Edward, and through him became the German Duchess of Coburn.

The text of From Splendor to Revolution has been copiously, even distractingly, footnoted throughout the book, but that means you can check the original sources when you find something particularly fascinating, something that happened to me a lot. This book will be well loved by most anyone interested in the Romanov family.

Ms Gelardi has presented us with a huge amount of information from a very specific point of view that of the state of european monarchy in five country: Romania, Spain, Greece, Norway and Russia highlighting the lives of five granddaughters of Queen Victoria who became queen consorts. It is not an academic study, however her sources include a huge amount of personal correspondance which merits the author a creditable effort. The approach is chronological and fucuses mostly on the personal circumstances of the protagonists. On a more negative note, I found confusing the varied references to the same person, for example Queen Victoria Eugénie was known to close family members as Ena, however the author chose to refer to her several ways sometimes within the same paragraph. Given that some names were popular among the offsprings of Queen Victoria (for example, Victoria, Beatrice, Alexandra, Albert), I had to backtrack several times to understand the family relationships. A more complete genealogical tree would also have been useful. Despite this issue, I recommend the book.½

Born to Rule is a biography of the select five granddaughters of Queen Victoria who became royal consorts during the early to mid-twentieth century amidst some of the tumultuous years before, during and after WWI. The five granddaughters it focuses on are Marie of Romania, Sophie of Greece, Alexandra (Alix) of Russia, Maud of Norway and Victoria Eugenie (Ena) of Spain. Instead of begin told as five separate biographies it is told chronologically and the women's lives are told jointly.

I have to admit that my knowledge of this time period and these women was very shaky prior to reading this book. Honestly the only woman I knew a little about is Alix of Russia who goes on to marry Nicholas II and they become the last of the Romanov Dynasty. So I found this book to be highly informative and interesting. It is filled with a lot of excellent detail about the time period and these women. Also, information included is the last years of Queen Victoria's reign.

This book does an excellent job at pointing out the similarities and differences between these women and their lives. Some of them including Sophie of Greece, Alix of Russia and Ena of Spain have very tragic and sad stories and these women who loved their adopted countries so much were never really accepted as part of the culture. We all know the fate of the Romanov's but Ena of Spain and Sophie of Greece also died in exile, without ever really being allowed to live in the countries they helped govern for so many years. Of the five women the only one who is truly admired in her country for the work she did was Maud of Norway who compared to the other women lead an almost fairly normal existence devoid of some of the scandals that rocked the other women. I enjoyed reading about all the women but the author focus a lot of Marie of Romania whose fiery and outgoing personality lead her into some trouble in her life and also helped her to become a very important figure in Romania's politics during the time she ruled.

The only problem I had with this book was that there was a few typos and grammatical errors and probably could have used a better editor but I found that it did not take away from the story of these women and I still found that the pace moved well through time. I also would have loved to have more information about Maud of Norway who unfortunately did not get as much attention as some of the other women. Besides these few things, I thought the book read really well and though I am not considered by an means be an expert on this time period I thought it provided a good look at some of the granddaughters of Queen Victoria who when on to lead marry into royal families.

Interesting angle on the history of three famous royal families. Gelardi compares three female rulers with each other, the effect they had on their daughters and then the power and influence their daughters had. The mother-daughter combinations come from 3 different time periods representing different times, thinking and political turmoil. Religion is a strong influence for all these women. Featured are: Queen Isabella of Spain and Catherine of Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife), Empress Maria Theresa and Queen Marie Antoinette, Queen Victoria and her daughter Vicky as Empress Frederick (mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II).½

This book follows the intertwining lives and the political environment of the five of Queen Victoria's granddaughters who were reigning consorts: Marie of Romania whose affairs scandalised Europe, Maude who hated Norway and wanted to live in England, Alexandra who was killed along with her family in the Russian revolution and the luckier Sophie of Greece and Victoria Eugenie of Spain both of whom were exiled from the lands they ruled due to political unrest. I had always known how interrelated (and inbred) the European royal families were, however reading this book gave fresh insight into the family quarrels that were inherently political. Even with the best known of these women, Alexandra, Gelardi was able to reveal her life and her motivations beyond the standard reading. (Why is it, I wonder, that no-one writing about the Russian Revolution ever thinks to mention that Nicolas and Alexandra were a love match and courted for years? Ah, of course, that's an unimportant 'feminine' detail, why would we need to know that?) In any case, this book is filled with similarly well researched and documented facts about these women and how their lives impacted European history. Well worth the read.

If it wasn't for the fact that this book was very entertaining to read and I finished it in no time, I'd say that this was someone's doctoral dissertation. How long did it take this author to collect such a massive amount of research? It's mindblowing! With so much research, Gelardi weaves intertwining tales of 5 first cousins, descents of Queen Victoria, and women who became reigning Queens throughout Europe by using the very words of the women themselves. There were times I felt like I was reading these women's diaries, their identities just leapt right off the page. I look forward to other books in the future by Julia Gelardi.

A perfectly tepid book about the five of Queen Victoria's grand-daughters who ruled as monarchs in their own rights. I found this book very tedious for several reasons. First, none of these women was that deeply interesting - certainly Alexandra, the Tsarina, had a tragic end, and Marie of Romania was passionate, but overall, and compared to Victoria or Elizabeth I, these women were weak and soft. Second, coming as they did at the cusp of the republican era, most of these women were the last monarchs of their respective countries. It's hard to feel interested about people who ultimately have no purpose. Finally, and perhaps most damning, the author manages to take these women and make them virtually un-empathetic. I've read other stories about the time period, and know that these are not unlikable women, and some of them did wonderful things. I just didn't care, however, because the book was *that* dull.½

From granddaughers clustered at Queen Victoria's knee to crowned consorts of Europe. They saw revolution, tears and the upheaval of war in their newly adopted homelands. Marie of Romania caused scandals with her love life but became the savior of her people during and after World War I. Ena of Spain endured the strict Catholic court as her playboy husband romped in others' beds. Alexandra of Russia longed for a son and heir and grew more and more distant from her subjects. Julia P. Gelardi provides just enough details to make the more than casual reader look for full length biographies of each consort. Covering such a span of time and space is difficult but the end result is compelling read and a fascinating look at at five unique women.

A fantastic history---the only thing wrong is that you cannot do justice to these five women in one single book. This comes close though, and gives you an idea of exactly how much of an impact Queen Victoria had on Europe through her children and grandchildren.

By virtue of having a lot of children and therefore grandchildren, it's no surprise that among the granddaughters of Queen Victoria there were five queens.

Queen Alexandra of Russia's story is well-known for its tragic ending. The others, Queen Maud (Norway), Queen Sophie (Greece), Queen Victoria Eugenie (Spain) and Queen Marie (Romania) are less well-known in America. Aside from Maud whose reign was peaceful, all the others had rather rocky reigns.

Her subjects are interesting but the author ruins the books with her awful writing. It feels like she lifts things from other books.

Julia Gelardi’s Born to Rule is the powerful epic story of five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who reigned over the end of their empires, the destruction of their families, and the tumult of the twentieth century

Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose faith in Rasputin and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, Spain’s very English queen who, like Alexandra, introduced hemophilia into her husband’s family---with devastating consequences for her marriage; Maud, King Edward VII’s daughter, who was independent Norway’s reluctant queen; and Sophie, Kaiser Wilhelm II’s much maligned sister, daughter of an emperor and herself the mother of no less than three kings and a queen, who ended her days in bitter exile.

Using never before published letters, memoirs, diplomatic documents, secondary sources, and interviews with descendents of the subjects, Julia Gelardi’s Born to Rule is an astonishing and memorable work of popular history.