Synopses & Reviews
Michael and Natasha is both an astonishing love story and an illuminating look at the last glorious days of the Romanovs and the brutal revolution that ended their reign. Based on private diaries, letters, and documents long hidden in the Soviet archives, it sheds light on an extraordinary tale of enduring love and ultimate tragedy that, until now, has never been told.
He was the Grand Duke Michael Aleksandrovich, the tall, dashing brother of Tsar Nicholas II. She was Nathalie Wulfert, a beautiful, elegant, intelligent, divorced commoner, and the wife of a Guards officer under Michael's command. Everything was wrong...yet for Grand Duke Michael, it was love at first sight-an obsession that would lead to disgrace, humiliation, and exile.
Much of Michael and Natasha's story is told in their own words, through hundreds of hitherto unpublished letters. Here they reveal their passion, their joy, and their despair as they are banished from their own country, bathed in scandal in the courts of Europe, and forced to suffer cruel separation. But more than a love story, Michael and Natasha is a historical drama played out against the elegant background of a bygone age and a world at war. It is a spell-binding account of Michael's return to Russia, his reputation as a war hero, the downfall of Nicholas II, the strange and short reign of Grand Duke Michael, and the cruel and tragic end of one of the most colorful eras in world history.MICHAEL AND NATASHA is both an astonishing love story and an illuminating look at the last glorious days of the Romanovs and the brutal revolution that ended their reign. Based on private diaries, letters, and documents long hidden in the Soviet archives, it sheds light on an extraordinary tale of enduring love and ultimate tragedy that, until now, has never been told.He was the Grand Duke Michael Aleksandrovich, the tall, dashing brother of Tsar Nicholas II. She was Nathalie Wulfert, a beautiful, elegant, intelligent, divorced commoner, and the wife of a Guards officer under Michael's command. Everything was wrong...yet for Grand Duke Michael, it was love at first sight-an obsession that would lead to disgrace, humiliation, and exile.Much of Michael and Natasha's story is told in their own words, through hundreds of hitherto unpublished letters. Here they reveal their passion, their joy, and their despair as they are banished from their own country, bathed in scandal in the courts of Europe, and forced to suffer cruel separation. But more than a love story, MICHAEL AND NATASHA is a historical drama played out against the elegant background of a bygone age and a world at war. It is a spell-binding account of Michael's return to Russia, his reputation as a war hero, the downfall of Nicholas II, the strange and short reign of Grand Duke Michael, and the cruel and tragic end of one of the most colorful eras in world history.
Synopsis
More than just an astonishing love story, "Michael and Natasha" is a portrait of the last age of elegance and an account of World War I, of frontline heroism, and the events that brought about the downfall of Nicholas II.
Synopsis
Grand Duke Michael Aleksandrovich was the tall, handsome, well-liked brother of Tsar Nicholas II. Nathalie Wulfert was the cunning and extraordinarily beautiful daughter of a common-born Moscow lawyer, and the wife of a Guards officer. The Grand Duke fell in love with Nathalie the moment they met, sparking a passion that would never fade through disgrace, humiliation, and banishment. But "Michael and Natasha" is much more than an astonishing love story. In part a portrait of the last age of elegance, it is also an account of World War I, of frontline heroism, and of the events that brought about the downfall of Nicholas II and his abdication in favor of his brother. What happened afterward changed history, and what happened to Michael -- the last Romanov to be proclaimed Emperor -- is a story that, until now, has never been told.
About the Author
Rosemary Crawford is a former London journalist who specialized in diplomatic and royal reporting and in recent years has concentrated on European royalty. She lives in England.
Donald Crawford is a journalist, barrister, and publisher. He lives in England