Ella: Princess, Saint And Martyr (2024)

For the most part this was a concise, informative and enjoyable read. It took a stance different than usual on commonly talked about points in Imperial Russian history. The author isn't afraid to give us less than savory details about the world of imperial Russia when necessary to tell Ella's story despite the fact that the book is, of course, a bit biased toward the imperial family due to its subject.

In these streets, girls as young as ten, there were no virgins over the age of fourteen in the Khitrovka, learnt all they needed to know about prostitution, and professional beggar women could hire babies wailing through hunger, or shivering, barefoot toddlers, who would touch the hearts of passers by on the Tverskaya with its fine shops and houses and make them dig deeper into their pockets and purses. Sometimes the babies died in the beggar women's arms, but they kept them until dark so as not to miss any opportunity to collect a few more kopecks.

Konstantin's hom*osexuality was an inescapable part of his character. Even so, it did not stop him from falling in love with Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg

I may be somewhat biased about this book because I assisted the author a little in his research while he was writing it. But... trying to be as objective as I can be, I think that this is a very good biography of the life of Grand duch*ess Elisabeth of Russia (formerly a Hesse Princess Ella). I don't like the title, because it implies that this is a religious work as opposed to historical, which is what it really is. Otherwise I do recommend it to those who are interested in Russian royalty or Russian pre-revolutionary history in general.

This was very well researched and detailed, but I did find it a bit slow going. The writing isn't particularly lively. As with all these sorts of biographies, if you are well read on the subject already, a lot of it is repetitious, but if you aren't there are an awful lot of names places and events to try to keep straight. I certainly got a new take on Ella's marriage to Grand Duke Sergei. I was under the impression from previous accounts that it was far more miserable than it seems to have been. Sergei was apparently gay or bi-sexual, true, but their failure to have children may have been her health and not a celibate marriage. Also Sergei, while not a sterling character, seems to perhaps not have been quite as high on the villain scale as he's come off in my other reading. Part of the problem here might be that Ella's life, prior of course to the horrors that began with Sergei's assassination, was not the stuff of as exciting tales as say, her cousins Victoria Melita or Marie of Romania. She got married, moved to Russia and did what rich royal people did in those days, wearing fabulous clothes and jewels and have parties and disapprove of what your relatives do. So that is not the book's fault.

The sad story of Ella Romanov is well told here. Ella was swept away by the Red Terror for belonging both to the Imperial family AND the Russian Orthodox Church, membership which put her in the cross hairs twice over. None of the good she did for the poor and sick of Moscow counted against who she was. She is an elusive person to know in any historical sense; there are some excerpts from her correspondence quoted here which does help a little. Still, one yearns for more.

Wonderful portrayal of Ella which also offered insights to her mother, Alice, and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. While there was much in the book about Romanov history that I'm already familiar with, Warwick offered plenty of interesting tidbits which were new to me, such as why so many foreign princesses who married into the Russian Imperial family chose the patronymic "Feodorovna". An answer to a question I often wondered about.

A nice, nuanced portrayal. Ella certainly does not come off as perfect, she has her faults like everyone else, which makes her more human and likeable. The most glaring example is in regards to her relationship with her niece by marriage, Maria Pavlovna. Maria's mother died when she was a baby and her father was exiled while she was still a child, making for a very delicate situation which Ella did not meet with her usual good grace. As Maria Pavlovna grew older, both were antagonistic toward one another, but my sympathies lie more with Maria since Ella was the adult and should have acted with more empathy toward the unfortunate situation. That said, I still think Ella was an extraordinary woman who did a lot of good.

Warwick also does a good job of sifting through legend and hearsay to get to the facts surrounding Ella's arrest, incarceration and death. The gross inhumanity concerning the Romanov deaths is so depressing (especially when talking about innocents like Ella, the tsar's children, Sister Barbara and servants) and is the reason why I can never read books about the Romanovs in succession. Cried like a baby at the end. God bless Ella!

I have heard about Ella before when reading about her sister Alix and being the Romanov junkie that I am I couldn't wait to dive into this book. Ella lived a wonderful life with her family in Hesse by Rhine and then lived an opulent life in Russia when she married Serge Romanov, Alexander III's brother. What I loved about Ella is how she dedicated her life to helping those in need and gave up all her material possessions to become a nun and start her own order. The book starts out with a lot of background on Princess Alice, Ella's mother and Queen Victoria's daughter. Although, I did like some of the background information on Princess Alice and her marriage to Ella's father, the author is very in-depth and detailed which was frustrating because I wanted to read about Ella not her mother. Also, a lot of his sentences were very long and wordy.I'm talking about 3-4 lines filled with extra descriptions here and there. Another reader mentioned that there was a picture of Ella's body after it was recovered from the mine shaft and I do agree that it seemed distasteful. It took me awhile to get through this book because it started to bore me here and there. I finished the book with a feeling admiration and respect for Ella, but still felt that I didn't really know her. I felt like I knew more about Serge, Princess Alice and the other Romanovs then Ella.

Very interesting book, not just as a biography, but as a window into the life of royalty in the late 19th/early 20th century. There are quite a few excerpts from letters written at the time between the main players in this story, which I found very interesting.

A really lovely, albeit detailed and long read, on the Grand duch*ess Ella. I really enjoyed and appreciated Warwick’s work at clarifying and ending long held rumors and myths. Warwick painted a great picture of an incredible woman using all kinds of primary sources.

First book about her and loved it.
Detailed. She was amazing

Not quite a complete waste of time but pretty close to it. There is so much new and interesting material coming out of archives in Russia and elsewhere (including the Hesse family archives which are private but open to reputable scholars - but an ability to read, write and speak a language other than English is prerequisite) for those willing to look - that it just infuriates me when biographers quote from utter trash, like books pumped before and after WWI by the Princess Radziwill (an adventurer who married and was soon discarded by minor scion of the Radziwill family but is best known for having attempted, but failed, to con money out of Cecil Rhodes). One can't help noticing a bibliography full of the same tired emigre memoirs that gave us Nicholas & Alexandra (book and film they are both rubbish) and tales from the lunatic if not anti Semitic fringe of the Russian diaspora - such as Lenin tearing down the monument to GD Serge with his bare hands (not that you blame him Serge was very odd character).

While the author may state the rumours of Serge's hom*osexuality he hasn't bothered to look into any of literature on Tchaikovsky, for example, whose extremely gay circles Serge was intimate with and there are numerous photos and letters of them on trips to Italy etc.

Nor is any time spent examining why someone who played a central role, at least discussing and encouraging the main participants in the murder of Rasputin should be regarded as a saint. I am perfectly aware the sainthood is not given for having lived a perfect life but murder, even participation by default seems a pretty big disqualification.

I think there is an interesting biography of Ella and also her sister Alexandra to be written. There are so many stories that reiterated about them both - that after their mother's death they were brought up and spent large parts of their childhoods with Queen Victoria yet amazingly neither Ella nor Alix (The Empress Alexandra to be) seems to have made an impact on or developed friendships with any of the other royals - all of Edward VII children were close in age to them both. George V was only a year younger then Ella. For all that closeness all we later here of is George and Nicholas, related only through their mother's and you would imagine had spent far less time the Hesse princesses. Maybe they weren't very likeable, I don't know but until these minor Romanovs (and even major ones like Alexandra) get a biographer who knows archives and languages and is willing to do real research we are doomed to have legends foisted upon us.

This is a biography with all the depth of fan fiction.

I lov d this book on Ella she's my fav out the Hesse sisters she's been great at empress this was such a great read tells you a lot about her niece Maria Pavlovna to there was a Deffo difference between her and Alix and its was cutely to murder her she was a nun a saint to god she was no fret thou I didn't now the Kaiser tried to get her out of Russia

This is not a casual read. You have to know something about Russian history, Queen Victoria, and the Romanovs to understand what goes on. Very little in Russian history and nothing in Romanov history ends well and this is no exception. Nonetheless the story of Ella, Elisabeth of Hess and by Rhine, granddaughter of Victoria, sister of Empress Alexandra, is compelling. Knowing the history well does not mitigate the ending of ths beautiful and pious princess. My only critism is that this well written book ends rather abruptly, but then so did Ella's life.

Another one of my readings about women with strong character. Fairly detailed but not an exhaustive read. One of the many granddaughters of Queen Victoria, Ella married Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, younger brother of Tsar Alexander II. Her sister Alexandra married Tsar Alexander III. After her husband was assassinated, Ella founded a religious order in Moscow who helped the poor and destitute. She was eventually canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Most of the time, Ella of Hesse tends to be overlooked in favour of her better-known younger sister, Alix, who would be the wife of Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia. But she was just as interesting, and her story just as complex. This was a great introduction to her life, and tended to be a cut above most of what else is written about her.

For the more complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_29995...

Enjoyable biography. Helps keep all the Victorian cousins straight even without a family tree printed in book. Brings opposing views\opinions to light without distracting from the main narrative. Interesting portrayal and humanization of Grand Duke Serge. Haunting description of death without being overly graphic or gory. Presents a well rounded Ella as she moves through each stage: princess, saint and martyr.

A good little biography for Grand duch*ess Ella, whose relatively simple life is usually overshadowed by the drama of those around her. The author focuses on dispelling the rumors about her, using the family’s letters and memories of those who knew her personally.

A nice book on the last days of Grand duch*ess Elisavyeta. I liked it alot, though it seemed a little rushed in places.

A bit too much detail, but a fascinating story.