Petersburg) is a city of great contrast and Alexander paints them all in a compelling way. The juxtaposition of the two stories is carefully planned and provides some suspense to a story that is, by now, well-documented and universally known. His confession (in italics) about what he knows of the plot to assassinate Rasputin, and the events as they unfolded the evening of the 16th December, 1916, is told in pieces between the story Maria tells of the weeks leading up to the murder as she is discovering the many contradictory facets of her famous (or infamous) father’s character. The story begins with the record of an interrogation of one of the murderers - a man who remains a mystery until almost the end of the novel. For the purposes of this story, Maria has returned to the Winter Palace, now ransacked and overrun by the people, where she is captured and interrogated by Aleksander Aleksandrovich Blok (once her favourite poet), who has been drafted and mandated by the “Exraordinary Commission to transcribe the Thirteenth Section’s interrogation of those who knew Rasputin.” "The combination of Alexander's research and his rich characterizations produces an engaging historical fiction that offers a Rasputin who is neither beast nor saint, but merely, compellingly human.Rasputin’s Daughter is a cleverly-written blending of fact and fiction attempting to recreate the mystique of the controversial monk from the perspective of his daughter, Matryona Grigorevna Rasputina, known as Maria. With Rasputin's Daughter, Robert Alexander once again delivers an imaginative and compelling story, fashioned from one of history's most fascinating periods that, until now, has been virtually unexplored in fiction. Swept away in a plot much larger than the death of one man, Maria fmds herself on the cusp of the Russian Revolution itself. With vast conspiracies mounting against his father, Maria must struggle with the discovery of Rasputin's true nature-his unbridled carnal appetites, mysterious relationship with the Empress, rumors of involvement in secret religious cults-to save her father from his murderers.
Interrogated by the Provisional Government on the details of her father's death, Maria vividly recounts a politically tumultuous Russia, where Rasputin's powerful influence over the throne are unsettling to all levels of society, and the threats to his life are no secret. With the same riveting historical narrative that made The Kitchen Boy a national bestseller and a book club favorite, Robert Alexander returns to revolutionary Russia for the harrowing tale of Rasputin's final days as told by his youthful and bold daughter, Maria.
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