Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr by Christopher Warwick
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Book Reviews of Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr
Book Review: Ella
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolutely loved this book. So much has/is written about the immediate royal family and this was yet another member murdered for no other reason than she was the sister of the czarina.Book Review: Good book, informative & well written
Summary: 5 Stars
Well written biography of the last Tzarina elder sister, it corrects the legend but keep the subject even more interesting.Book Review: Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're a true history buff and like reading about more than just the "main characters" of history, then I would recommend reading this book. Not for the faint of heart as it is full of specific details and accounts of events often taken directly from the family's personal letters at the time (and LOTS of long and hard-to-pronouce Russian and German names!), it is nevertheless a very touching book and paints a vivid picture of what life was like in the family of Queen Victoria and of her children and her grandchildren, and the life of Elisabeth (Ella) in Russia before and just after the Bolshevik Revolution. We've been fed a lot of one-sided history about how frivolous and aloof was the Russian royalty, but in Ella's case, nothing could have been farther from the truth. A very poignant and inspirational story, yet very naturally done. A great book that allows you to walk in her shoes as you turn the pages.Book Review: factual yet interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very happy to be able to read something about European/ Russian royalty that was based on fact rather than fiction and that was also interesting. So much of what is usually written is simply to tell a fairy tale yet this author based all his information on historical fact and still told a good story. The ending of Ella's life was a little abrupt, as there wasn't a great deal of specifics on her role as a Saint. How was she recognized for sainthood, what were the miracles she preformed etc.
Maybeybe that could have gotten a little dry but I do feel it could have had a better conclusion. This was a well woven story of life, love, country and faith.
Book Review: Badly researched and strangely written
Summary: 1 Stars
Warwick, the author, certainly isn't a historian. 19th century European history was my college major and remains a passion. This book is riddled with major historical inaccuracies, e.g. he confuses and merges Prussia's wars with Denmark and Austria, completely failing to understand their historical context and effect. The signifigance of this example is, if he botches what I already know about, how reliable is the rest of his research? He also has some strange perspectives. It is a well-documented fact that Ella's husband was gay. Yet Warwick treats this fact as a series of rumors spread by malicious people hurling the most vile of accusations. One suspects Mr. Warwick has some great big hang-ups related to homosexuality that interfere with his ability to write about his subject. I stopped reading about a third of the way through. This book is garbage scholarship, a dilettante's effort to make money off a dead woman no longer around to object. The other thing that amazed me were numerous misspellings, as if the book was so cheaply produced there was no money for proofing the text.