Maria Romanov: Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters, 1913-1918

This is the third volume in our series of original English translations of the Romanov family’s private letters and diaries. As with the other volumes, this is the first English translation of her diaries and letters. All of the materials are held in Russian archives. The author fortunately has been given access to the original documents. Maria Romanov was canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church for her service as a nurse tending wounded soldiers during World War I. Her diary reveals she felt she was the black sheep of the family despite being knows as the most beautiful of the four sisters. (Lord Mountbatten kept her photo with him his entire life as a remembrance of his youthful crush on her.) Her letters and diaries include intimate details about Rasputin and the royal family as well as the family’s concern over the war with Germany and the subsequent rise of the Bolsheviks. She was eighteen-years-old when she was murdered by the Bolsheviks.