Alexandra Feodorovna, (Princess Alix of Hesse and Rhine), was born in 1872 in the German Empire. She was the daughter of Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria of Ireland and Great Britain. Her father was Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. She was one of Queen Victoria's favorite grandchildren. She was considered to be a very beautiful girl. She was quite shy, and often shut down around people when she felt uncomfortable. She was also extremely religious and was really unsure about switching religions to marry Nicholas II. As a child, she contracted diphtheria. One sister was away at the time, escaping the outbreak. Alexxandra, three sisters, her brother, and her father all wound up contracting diphtheria. Her mother, Alice, did not. She died when Alexandra was six. One sister also died.

Alexandra married Nicholas II in 1894. During the coronation, a group of people were trampled to death trying to watch the events. Alexandra and Nicholas were horrified. She was very unpopular amongst the people, partly because she arrived so soon after the death of the former Tsar. She was considered a bad omen. They also did not care for her attitude, not understanding that she was quite shy. She did not host parties and events like her predecessors, because she wasn't into the drama and love affairs that seemed to be rampant in the court. They also were unimpressed by how many daughters she had. The couple had Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, and, one son, Alexei. Alexandra was not in the best of health, and many have suggested that she suffered from Grave's Disease, though that has never been proven. She was also a carrier for hemophilia, passing it to her son, Alexei. In an effort to help Alexei, she became involved with Rasputin, a creep by all measures. Of course, we all know what happened to the family during World War I and the Russian Revolution, so I will not get into that.

As far as the book itself goes, I learned a decent amount Alexandra and her family. I noticed a few other reviews that complained about the author using familiar names, such as Alix and Nicky, which I also found a bit familiar. This is not the only author to use those particular familiar names, so I assume that must be common. I am by no means an expert in Russian history, so I cannot say if that is inappropriate or not. It just struck me as uncommon compared to other historical biographies that I have read. I think that Alexandra was very misunderstood and her actions were taken the wrong way. I would imagine it would be difficult to be brought up one way and marry into a completely different culture and expectations. I feel that this book offered a lot of detail and personal information about Alexandra, her family, and her reign.