Helen brings her story back to life as the Romonav that history and time forgot. This is the perfect book for anyone interested in women’s nonfiction, Russian history, or royal history.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book! I am always looking for great non-fiction books to read and knew I wanted to read this one when I saw it. I was thrilled when I received a free copy of it and was not disappointed one bit.

I don't know about other people, but I have always been horrified when learning how these girls were forced to get married for money, power, and even to keep peace in their countries. Their lives basically traded away. I have never wanted to live in the past like some people, although I do love the dresses. Would not mind traveling in the Tardis, though (I am now on a tangent that has nothing to do with the book, so will move on, I guess).

I had never even heard of Julie of Saxe-Coburg (at least that I can remember) but have been fascinated by the story of the Romanov family since I was young, even more so Rasputin (ever since my dad told me the story of all the ways they tried and failed to murder him). So I love reading all about their drama, although it has been years since I have picked up a book about them. This is the very first book I have read by Helen Rapport and will be looking for more by her in the future!!!

This is a story of one kind of suffering—that of a noble girl sacrificed on the altar of family ambition. It’s a biography of of a little know Romanov-by-marriage. Julie of Saxe-Coburg is the sister of the one-time future Prince Consort of the UK–i.e. Prince Leopold, husband of Princess Charlotte of Wales, only legitimate heir in the male line to the British throne. Her father was the Prince Regent. Her death after childbirth (and the death of her infant son) set of the marrying stakes that gave the world Queen Victoria, her cousins “Fat Mary” and George Cambridge, and in a later generations, Edward VII, both George V and his wife Queen Mary, George VI, his elder daughter Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Philip, and more. Oh, and Leopold? He became King of the Belgians. And is remembered as a tyrannt who took all the wealth found in the Congo. Catherine the Great wanted some sweet, innocent young “wives,” for her grandsons Alexander and Constantine. Julie got Constantine. He had erratic moods, a vile temper, and never succeeding in “begatting” an heir with her. She left him.

At a time when many royal brides meekly submitted to disastrous marriages, Julie proved to be a woman ahead of her time, sacrificing her reputation and a life of luxury in exchange for the freedom to live as she wished. The Rebel Romanov is the inspiring tale of a bold woman who, until now, has been ignored by history.I never really found out that much about Julie. I did find while reading that I was completely fascinated with what Julie did or didn’t do

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book! It took me a bit to get into the story here (and honestly to keep all of the characters straight!). Once I did get into it though, it turned out to be a really interesting story; one that I'm surprised hasn't gotten more publicity. Good read for others looking for biographies on 19th century royals, especially those interested in Queen Victoria or Empress Elisabeth.

Like most members of the royal families of Europe, Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld came from a very complicated family tree. Since the royalty had a penchant for marrying their cousins, which often produced unfortunate results in regards to mental instability, medical diseases, or physical characteristics. In order to improve a families finances princesses were trafficked to wealthy royal houses. Love was rarely part of the equation. This was the case of Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, a forgotten member of the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld family. The Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld family was broke, but they had 3 daughters whose marriages would hopefully revive their finances. As luck would have it, Russia's Catherine the Great hoped to get her unstable grandson, Constantine, married before she died. He would be the second in line to Russian throne, and she hoped it would improve his mental disposition. Fourteen year old Julianne, and her 2 older sisters made the 40 day trip from Coburg to St. Petersburg, and out of duty, Constantine chose Juliane. She was renamed Anna, converted to Russian orthodox, and then married Constantine in 1796. Unfortunately, Constantine was an abomination as a husband as he was mentally unstable, violent, and sadistic. In 1799, pleading illness, Julie/Anna fled to her home in Germany, but was coerced by her family and the Russian Court to return. In 1801 she again fell ill, and her mother brought her home to Germany. This time Julianne refused to return to the Russian court. She spent time in Germany but finally settled in Switzerland and had two children by two different men. In 1820, she was finally granted a divorce. I didn't find her rebellious but I did find her persistent in her quest for self preservation. Dr. Rappaport's in depth descriptions of people, places and events is fully supported with documentation and footnotes, and brings to life Juliane, so she will no longer be forgotten.

I read and listened to this book simultaneously. The non-fiction book provided a wealth of information about the interwoven royal families I didn’t know much about. I’ve read several of this authors books and she is a thorough researcher and that is evident in her writing. I’d never heard of this Princess Julia who was married off to an awful Russian husband in Konstantine. I was so relieved when she wa# able to get away from him and live a better life, though still restricted.

Very interesting and seemed quite well researched. I have read very little about the Romanov family and court but find it fascinating.

I have enjoyed Helen Rappaport’s books in the past and this one was also enjoyable, though not as gripping.

Excellent and fascinating book! This is a biography of the little-known Princess Julie, aka Grand Duchess Anna Fyodorovna of Russia. She became a Romanov by marriage when she married Grand Duke Konstantin, Emperor Alexander I's younger brother. Though she got along well with Alexander and his wife Elise, her marriage to Konstantin was a disaster. They became estranged, she left Russia, and they eventually were granted a divorce. She had two illegitimate children and lived a relatively quiet life in Switzerland. I especially enjoyed the mentions of classical music she enjoyed. It's so fascinating that people were still attending concerts of Mozart's music in the 1830s, even though he died in 1791 (I guess he's never gone out of style, hooray for Mozart!).

Anyway, this is a fabulous biography of a little-known and somewhat tragic figure. Oh, and did I mention that this Julie was the aunt of Queen Victoria? Pretty fascinating!

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

Loved this one! This was such an intriguing and informative read on a subject that I love learning about! I loved getting more information on this somewhat obscure historical figure and the part she played in the history of Russia! Definitely recommend reading this book!

3.75 out of 5 stars!

While Dr. Helen Rappaport writes a compelling history of Julie of Saxe-Coburg it's not very interesting. That is no way, Dr. Rappaports fault. Julie or Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, as she was known in Russia, was a very secretive person. At the young age of 15, she was sent to Russia to marry Konstantin Feodorovna. This marriage was political, as well as financial for the small ducy of Germany, Saxe-Coburg. She suffered a lot under her husband, Konstantin, as well as her mother-in-law, Maria. Julie was Queen Victoria's Aunt and the granddaughter-in-law to Catherine the Great. After 2 decades of trying to get a divorce from Konstantin and having to give up 2 children, she finally made a life for herself in Switzerland. Dr. Rappaport does a great job of telling her story, even though Julie destroyed most of her letters.

Publication Date April 15, 2025

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Dr. Helen Rappaport for the E-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

#Netgalley #Stmartinspress #HelenRappaport #TheRebelRomanov #ARC

Very well-researched and well-written. I struggled to get into this book; however, it may be because I am entirely new to this era of time. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an ARC copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I LOOOOVE anything to do with Catherine the Great so my expectations were high for this book, to say the least. And I adored it! It was fun, captivating and past faced. Would buy for friends!

Excellent history of a little know woman of the Romanov family and Queen Victoria relative. Helen Rappaport has a great way of making history come alive.

If you are an avid reader of historical texts, especially about royalty, you will probably enjoy this book. It is well researched and very dense with family trees and royal connections. When I accepted to preview this book, I thought it was written in the style of a historical novel. However, this text is written as a very precise history and the denseness of the facts and dates became a bit too much to take in. So I skipped quite a few pages and continued to read when it became more interesting. Julie certainly lived through some oppressive times, and was probably even a victim of domestic violence. So having silk gowns and gold thrones doesn’t ensure happiness. Also, she was so very young. I enjoyed reading the part where she escaped to Paris and became a woman of culture. She was an interesting figure, for sure.

In conclusion, if you are an avid reader of historical texts, especially about royalty, you may enjoy this book.

This is the story of Princess Julie of Saxe-Coburg who became Grand Duchess Anna Fyodorovna of Russia. I really enjoyed learning the history of the ties forged between the ruling family of Saxe-Coburg and Russian royalty at the time of Catherine the Great. Reading what life was like for the members of these families was very interesting.

I’m not sure we get a clear enough picture of Julie, especially during the first half of her life. There is not much information coming directly from Julie. Much of the gossip around Julie’s relationships isn’t enough to tell us what was really going on, so I was bored at times. But I think we get enough of a story to see what she was enduring at the hands of her cruel husband Grand Duke Konstantin as well as an insight into the eccentricities of many of their family members.

This is a very well researched book considering there isn’t much in the record coming from Julie herself. Her mother, Auguste, shares several details of her daughter’s life in her journal. We also get to learn about her from correspondence sent by her friends and siblings. It seems she was very depressed later in life but at the same time she got to enjoy so much beauty where she lived, and I hope, some peace.

I think the best parts of the book are reading about how connections were made through marriage by Julie’s family into the most powerful monarchies in Europe. I was amazed by the fact that she was an aunt to both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy to review.

As a big fan of Helen Rappaport, this new story about the Romanovs was a great read! Helen Rappaport does her research thoroughly! This story about the Aunt of Queen Victoria is no exception! The arrangement of marriages among royals always intrigues me! Julie’s story was sad yet she was a strong woman and was incredibly influential in the Romanov family! Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

eBook ARC - 3 Stars
While this is clearly a well-researched [given the limited information about much of Julie's life and the absence of letters and diaries], and quite a bit of it was really fascinating, I am afraid I that overall, I really struggled with this one. Yes, I learned things [my knowledge of Russian history does not extend this far back an the only player I was initially familiar with was Catherine the Great], but it was just so dry in parts [and everyone was just SO...extra? Even more so for the Russian aristocracy I found], that by the end, I found I just didn't care that much anymore.

I will say that Julie herself was an interesting characters, in that she was FOURTEEN when she was married [to a pretty vile human being], despised bother her husband [who gave her what they now believe was syphilis, because he continually diddled in so many other ponds] AND the spotlight [which is tough when one is a Royal], and just wanted to live quietly [BUT not poorly! ;-) ], all which seemed to completely infuriate the Russian Court of Royals.

One of the things that was interesting to me was that, with all the inter-marrying [one relative on the Saxe-Coburg side married his teen NIECE - EWWWWWWWW!!!!!!], I was still surprised that Julie was Aunt to both Queen Victoria AND to Prince Albert [I had forgotten that they were cousins. Also, ew.], and that part of the book and the history reminder was both gross AND fascinating.

Overall, this book was just not what I was expecting [Julie was neither a rebel nor was she ever in line to be Empress, so the title is extremely misleading], and I was just left mostly disappointed.

Audiobook ARC - 4 Stars
I absolutely love Jennifer M. Dixon as a narrator and she does an excellent job here. There is a lot of French, German, and Russian names and places, and she handles it deftly, like she speaks both those languages, names, and places on a regular basis. I highly recommend listening to her read this book as she makes even the dry parts better and she is the reason I was able to continue and not DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley, Helen Rappaport, Jennifer M. Dixon - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read a lot of history books over the years, lots for school, some for work, and many for fun. Helen Rappaport’s books have been a standout because of the rich narrative quality and conversational tone.

“Rebel Romanov” came across a lot more academic, less like I was having a conversation with Rappaport about Julie of Saxe-Coberg and more like I was listen to a very structured lecture about her life. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it wasn’t what I had expected after reading some of the author’s other works, notably “The Romanov Sisters.”

Little is known about Julie, which is explained in the book, so Rappaport has to make do with what she has and she does it well. She beautifully and clearly describes the different portraits commissioned, the different houses, the travels, etc. Everything is wonderfully detailed and helps the reader feel more immersed, something that can be hard for biographies to pull off.

Very informative read on the life of a woman whose story has been largely lost to time, but had a great impact on history. Her life was tumultuous but full and I was tantalized by her spirit and determination. Unfortunately the tone of the book suffered in the way Russian literature often does with a dryness that undid the compelling narrative. The treatment did not underscore the dramatic life she lead in the way I felt it should.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.