After the Romanovs- Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque to Revolution and War by Helen Rappaport - 2022

 

After the Romanovs- Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque to Revolution and War by Helen Rappaport - 2022

This will be my eighth year participating in a wonderful event, Paris in July.  The event hosts are Reader Buzz and Thyme for Tea.  Posts on any and all things Paris are welcome.  You can share your memories of a trip to Paris, your favorite French recipes or restaurants, art in the  Louvre, your favorite set in Paris Movies (mine are Ninotchka and Midnight in Paris).  Of course the French literary masters as well as contemporary writers are great subjects.

Last year I posted on six short stories by Russian Émigré writers who loved to Paris after the fall of the Tsars among others works.  Three of them are given illuminating coverage 

in After the Romanovs.

Paris in July is an excellent way to meet bloggers outside the Book Blog world, to expand your knowledge of Parisian history and culture.

Like those depicted in  my first post for Paris in July, Yiddish Paris by Nicolas Underwood, Russians moved to Paris because they felt they no longer had a safe home, free from the threat of death.

The book opens in 1900 at the most elite restaurant in Paris.  Among the clientele are Russian Grand Dukes and their French Courtesan mistresses. (This courtesy title was borne by the sons and male-line grandsons of the Emperor of all the Russias, along with the style of His Imperial Highness. They were not sovereigns, but members and dynasts of the House of the reigning emperor. From Wikipedia) Grand Dukes often had no actual responsibilities, this combined with great wealth, arranged marriages and the eagerness of the French to cater to them drew them to Paris. Some bought mansions and gave huge tips, lavishing fortunes on a French mistress .  Then came the Russian Revolution and everything changed.

Some had the foresight to bring liquid wealth to Paris, some ended up as waiters or cab drivers.  Many of the Romanov women became employed as seamstress or models. Most Russian exiles never  stopped believing the Bolsheviks would be overturned and they could return.

Soon after the fall of the Tsar 1000s of ordinary Russians moved to Paris, struggling to fit in, speaking no French and looking for work.  2500 became cab drivers, a relatively desirable occupation. 1000s worked in Renault and Citroen factories.  Richer Russians did try to help those in poverty.  As the French economy went into decline, some resentment was felt toward Russians taking jobs.  Younger Russians born in France had little nostalgia for Czarist days.  Rappaprt estimates there were about 75,000 Émigrés at the peak.

After the Romanovs is an excellent work of narrative non-fiction, very well documented and written.

Details on Rappaports background and other books can be found here

https://helenrappaport.com/about/

Mel Ulm

 

 

Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of The Romanov Grand Duchesses by Helen Rappaport (2014, forthcoming)

I have long been fascinated by the final years of Tsarist  Russia.  I have read Robert Massie's Nicholas and Alexander, biographies of Rasputin, and Prince Felix Yosupov.

Rappaport's book focuses on the lives of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra  We go through the agony of Alexandra as she deliverers four daughters before giving birth to a son, the hemophiliac Alexey.  The focus of this book is on the upbringing of the girls and the day to day life of the royal family.  Rappaport makes it clear that Nicholas was not suited to be Czar, he should have been, as he wished he was, a gentleman farmer.  It was a very dangerous time to be an Eastern European or Russia Royal with assassins everywhere.  The girls do not have any great intrinsic interest.  Their lives were lessons, family outings, fun times on royal yachts, and petty squabbles and childish misbehavior.  The terrible shadow over the family was the life threatening illness of the son, the generally poor health of their mother and the terrible events to come.  The girls do not come across as intrinsically interesting and no real sense of personality develops.  Of course Rasputin plays an important part in the story and we see the families total faith in him.  We see as the girls begin to mature, the inner workings of royal match making, four royal weddings could set up much needed bonds.  We see what a terrible Czar Nicholas was as WW One lingers on and millions of Russias die.  The girls were trained as military nurses and preformed very well in that role.  The last chapters are devoted to the captivity and execution of the royal family.

This book is for people like me who are seriously into the history of this era. Most of the big scale history, potential readers probably already know.  It was to me interesting to learn details of how the four princesses were raised, most of the rest of the history I already knew.   I admit my interest is heightened by being the father of three of my own Princesses.   I am not sure those without such an interest will be able to wade through it.  

I was given a free copy of this book.

Mel u