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Tsarina's Daughter Paperback – March 15, 2022

by Ellen Alpsten (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 452 ratings
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Ellen Alpsten's stunning novel, The Tsarina's Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal.

Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, a former serf, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the envy of the Russian empire. She is insulated by luxury and spoiled by her father, who dreams for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule in Versailles. But when a woodland creature gives her a Delphic prophecy, her life is turned upside down. Her volatile father suddenly dies, her only brother has been executed and her mother takes the throne of Russia.

As friends turn to foe in the dangerous atmosphere of the Court, the princess must fear for her freedom and her life. Fate deals her blow after blow, and even loving her becomes a crime that warrants cruel torture and capital punishment: Elizabeth matures from suffering victim to strong and savvy survivor. But only her true love and their burning passion finally help her become who she is. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth finds herself in mortal danger and must confront a terrible dilemma - seize the reins of power and harm an innocent child, or find herself following in the footsteps of her murdered brother.

Hidden behind a gorgeous, wildly decadent façade, the Russian Imperial Court is a viper’s den of intrigue and ambition. Only a woman possessed of boundless courage and cunning can prove herself worthy to sit on the throne of Peter the Great.

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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 2
    Tsarina
  2. Print length
    512 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    March 15, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1250214416
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250214416
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Political intrigue abounds....fans of historical fiction based on real people will devour this rich repast.” –Booklist

"Alpsten’s gifts at laying on evocative period detail and engendering empathy for her characters will keep the pages turning." --Publishers Weekly

Praise for Tsarina:

“Astonishing...the ultimate Cinderella story.” ―Daisy Goodwin, bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter

"A fascinating and extraordinary ride." ―Booklist (starred)

“Alpsten shines.” ―Publishers Weekly

"As detailed as the jewels and enamel inlay on the creations of Faberge." ―Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife

“Masterfully researched and beautifully written.” ―Nancy Goldstone, author of Rival Queens

“Intrigue, rivalry, and sumptuous decadence leap to vivid life.” ―C.W. Gortner, author of The Romanov Empress

Game of Thrones without the dragons.” ―Natasha Pulley, author of the international bestseller The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

“Tsarina should come with a health warning―once you start reading, it’s impossible to stop.” ―Hannah Rothschild, bestselling author of House of Trelawney

"Alpsten's colourful narrative does full justice to [Catherine's] extraordinary career." ―Sunday Times (UK)

"An entertaining romp through the endless intrigue, violence and debauchery of court life." ―Mail on Sunday (UK)

"A vivid page-turner of a debut." ―The Times (UK)

About the Author

ELLEN ALPSTEN was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Upon graduating from L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a news anchor for Bloomberg TV London. Whilst working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons and a moody fox red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Griffin (March 15, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250214416
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250214416
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 452 ratings

About the author

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Ellen Alpsten

Ellen Alpsten

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Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, where she dressed up her many pets and forced them to listen to her stories.

Upon graduating from the 'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris', she worked as a news-anchor for Bloomberg TV London. While working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work, a nap and a run. So much for burning midnight oil!

Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint, and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons, and a moody fox red Labrador.

'Tsarina' is her debut novel.​

For more information about her literary life follow her on social media.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
452 global ratings
A historical fiction of an Empress
4 Stars
A historical fiction of an Empress
The Tsarina's Daughter is a historical fiction based on the real life figure of Elizabeth Petrovna, Empress of Russia who ruled from 1741-1762. This novel tries to explain the events on how she came into power.This novel is the second book in the trilogy but I read it as a standalone and enjoyed it a lot. The events in this book starts from 1723 and ends with when Elizabeth comes into power.Historical fictions like this book have a lot of characters and to keep a track of all of them is a challenge but this novel is not that hard to follow in the story. The character glossary in the beginning is a good reference point. I sure was searching lot of the characters on Wikipedia to get more indepth reference as well. I really enjoyed this book and can't help myself to draw parallels with the real things happening in that part of the world right now.
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Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Russia's Rags to Riches Tsarvena
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
Vivid descriptions make the whole story come to life. The characters are rich and complex.. Be transported to Tsar Peter the Great's Russia. His beautiful hellcat daughter, Elizabeth goes from spoiled, headstrong child to a mature woman who does what she must for love of her country and its people. Elizabeth's begins as an illegitimate daughter to Princess of Russia after her father marries her mother. Elizabeth's mother has shown such dedication and loyalty to her husband and Russia that Tsar Peter crowns her Tsarina of all Russia. Unfortunately, the Tsarina only gives birth to daughters, no male heir for the great Romanov family. Elizabeth's father goes a step further placing his daughters' future sons as heirs to the Russian throne. Yet, Elizabeth and her sister are dealt a terrible blow when their father, then their mother dies. Leaving them orphans and overlooked by officials. Elizabeth must stay strong and go against her heart to obtain her heart's desire.
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K. Howard
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Russian history
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022
The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Alpsten is the first book I've listed to/read by Ellen Alpsten. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version, which is brilliantly narrated by Anna Krippa. Her Russian accent is beautiful; also, trying to read those Russian names? Forget about it! I felt totally immersed in the freezing Russian winters, palace life, love and the heartbreak of the Tsarina's daughter.

Tsarevna Elizabeth, born into the House of Romanov is the coddled daughter of Peter the Great and his wife Catherine I, who was once a serf. She and her sister Anna are extremely close and lived in the lap of luxury. Peter had big plans for his daughter Elizabeth: He planned for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule by his side in Versailles. But for royals, just not the rest of us, life doesn't always go as planned. Elizabeth receives a strange prophecy by an old crone/creature in the woods, and soon those prophecies begin to come true. Her beloved father Peter the Great dies, and Catherine I takes the throne. Trusted people of the Court become enemies and try to bend Catherine I to their will. When her mother dies, Elizabeth is not named heir, and her life becomes one of danger. She is strong, however, and soon overcomes being a victim and learns the rules of survival. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth must make a horrible decision; will the last part of the prophecy come true?

I had great interest in this book, as my paternal grandmother's family is from Russia and she was related to Tsar Nicholas II. Also, my husband and I, along with my parents, visited Russia a number of years ago; it was a fascinating and strange journey. The author apparently did a huge amount of research for this book and I was duly impressed. Elizabeth lived a life of great luxury and also dismal poverty, but she was a fighter. Things became very difficult for her after Peter the Great died, and her fortunes went up and down. This book is not for the faint of heart. People were punished in horrible ways; the torture of one of Elizabeth's lovers was gruesome, but such is the way of a lot of history. (Hope we've all learned something from that.) It was heartbreaking when Elizabeth lost her beloved sister. They had become estranged, but found each other once again before Anna died. The book began suspensefully in 1741 when Elizabeth staged a coup d’état to take the throne of All the Russias, and the infant emperor's fate was being decided. We then go back and see the events that led to that pivotal moment. I admit I was very confused with trying to keep track of who was who; the confusing Russian names didn't help. But I eventually just let that go and went along for the ride. I loved the afterword when we learn the fate of the true characters in the book; it was simply fascinating. I was very impressed by the narrator and would love to listen to more books which she narrates. I also want to go back and read Tsarina, Ms. Alpsten's previous book.

I received an ARC of this book/audiobook courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
4 people found this helpful
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Lynda
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
I love how the two books flow into the other and the story remains fluid, the character development of Lizenka is brilliant, making the reader feel her emotions and her struggles. I look forward to any future novels. The details and transition through time is well thought out and not rushed in the story. A wonderful book.
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Amanda Hupe
3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been shorter or details reworked
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Ellen Alpsten, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. It was released on March 15th, 2022!

The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten is the follow-up novel to Tsarina that was released in 2002. The first book is about Catherine I. This book is about her daughter, Elizabeth. This book can be read as a standalone, although I do wish I read Tsarina first. Elizabeth is born into the Romonav House and her father is Peter the Great. He has offered her hand in marriage to King Louis of France. Her hopes are high and can’t wait to assume her new role. But then her father dies and her mother, who was a former serf, rises to the throne. However, those who have their own ambitions rise in court, and Elizabeth’s life is filled with danger, even by those whom she trusted. She will discover that loyalty comes and goes with the wind. She will watch the rise and fall of many leaders and hope she can survive.

It took me a while to get into this book. While the subject matter has always interested me, it just felt a little lackluster. I took a class on Catherine the Great, whom I assume will be the main character in the next novel? The part that is so intriguing is the political intrigue–it is the danger and not knowing whom to trust. But I felt that concept took the backburner in this story. The focus was love and Elizabeth’s loneliness after Leshy (a forest spirit) told her she would never marry. I did love the lore, but there is so much more to Elizabeth than her love life. It just made her feel so unrealistic. She felt like a character, not a historical person. But the emotion is there. Every time she lost someone in her life, it did pull my heartstrings.

After the death of Peter the Great, the pace of the novel really picked up. I did appreciate how the author talks about the different visions of the Tsars. Some wanted to change, and some wanted to keep to the Old World ideologies. While the main plot is consistent with historical facts, there were some minor details that were not accurate. For instance, Count Lestocq would always whip out his tarot cards. While tarot cards did exist then, they weren’t used for fortune-telling purposes until much later. As I said, this is a minor detail. It just felt like something that didn’t need to be a reoccurring part of the story. But I will probably look into reading the first book. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.
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Top reviews from other countries

Judith M Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book really held my attention. It seemed, initially, to lurch from one tragic event to another. However, the characterizations were very vivid and the responses to changes in situation were dramatic. I just kept on reading!
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Moochicat86
5.0 out of 5 stars A highly recommended book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
I bought this for my wife who really enjoyed the first one Ellen Alpsten wrote, if you like history of Russia, kings and queens, politics, romance and twists and turns this is for you. The wife highly recommends it and is in anticipation for Ellen to write another!
5 people found this helpful
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Emerald
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2021
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I absolutely adored this book and I would definitely say I love this book as much as the first book about Catherine 1st. I really hope the author writes more books about Russian history because I am gripped and obsessed and I want more!!
3 people found this helpful
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mamo
3.0 out of 5 stars Page turner but not 100%
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
I finished this book to the end as there was something compelling about it. As with the first book by
Ellen Alpsten "Tsarina" it has a story line that is richly packed with incidents that seem impossible but a lot of them prove to be true!
As I read the book, I kept finding phrases that jarred because they are very modern and to me have no place in a historical novel written in the first person. I wish I had made a note of them at the time because I found some truly shocking. On a quick glance through I re found a few..."bank rolled"-very modern phrase "pawn or player", "for a heartbeat" "in style" and old but not at all Russian "frying pan into the fire!"
At every possible opportunity, the Princess points out how sexy her clothing is. Here is an example from the end of the book.........." I stood in the doorway, my cheeks were flushed and the green regimental jacket moulded my body, showing my rosy skin where i had opened it so I could breath more easily" This is someone leading a coup!
Having aired these criticisms, I did enjoy the book and look forward to the authors next work.
5 people found this helpful
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Catarina Soares
5.0 out of 5 stars The historical settings- beautifully recreated
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2021
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Addictive! Cannot put it down. The atmosphere of the age very well recreated
4 people found this helpful
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