I love this time period in history. It just amazes me how much we actually know and how much is missing.

Julie led a very unique life. She married so very young to the an heir to the Russian Throne. She married Constantine, Catherine the Great’s grand child. But life was not easy for her. She had to deal with learning a new religion and all the new rules for an Empress of Russia. Plus, her husband was very abusive. She begged to leave on numerous occasions. She was finally granted her wish to leave Russia. Julie proceeded to live her life as she wanted.

I had no idea about Julie. She was a person who went after what she wanted when she was supposed to conform and be submissive. I loved learning about her and everything she went through to live her life.

The narrator, Jennifer M. Dixon, had some tough pronunciations to tackle. She handled it like a pro!

Need a well researched book about a woman ahead of her time…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review.

The book is very well-researched. And I learned a great deal about a historical figure (albeit minor) who I had no idea existed. But the writing was dry, and I never felt fully connected to Julie as a person. Which was likely because we don't have much of Julie's correspondence. I'll be honest, I feel misled by the title. When I see "rebel", I think rebel on a grander scale not a person one.

Julie Saxe Coburg was selected by Catherine the Great to marry her grandson. This led Julie to a court that was filled with intrigue and, unfortunately, not the best husband.

How did Julie cope? Not in the way that most women in her time did.

Julie had a life that was quite full if not always easy. Learn more about her in this well written biography. Its author is an expert in her field.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

It took me a bit to get into this book, but once I did, I enjoyed it. I didn’t read the description clearly it seems, b/c I was expecting a way different outcome. While it was still a sad story, it wasn’t as sad as it would have been. I know a bit about the Romanov family, but this was an interesting story about someone who married into the family and really shouldn’t have. You have to wonder if Julie had married someone else, how would her life had turned out? And it was wrong of the family not to tell her what Konstantin was really like. The way women were treated was abysmal and I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been for them. I recommend this book if you like historical non-fiction. *I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

A fascinating slice of royal history with a rebellious heart. Julie’s story is equal parts heartbreaking and empowering—she defied expectations and chose freedom over a crown. If you love untold stories of bold women who dared to live on their own terms, this one’s for you.

As I read The Rebel Romanov I kept pondering what it was like to live during this time frame of arranged marriages, marrying nieces, being forced into loveless abusive marriages - no wonder so many died at such young ages! My heart went out to Julia immediately - Konstantin was truly a nightmare as a husband. I couldn’t help but shudder when this young naive innocent girl finally realized who she had married. I cannot imagine traveling to a different country, with a drastic religion change, having my name changed and having to learn the rules of a new court, then being left there as a very young girl to deal with an arranged marriage. I cheered when she finally moved to Switzerland but was saddened that she was never able to live her life on her own terms. The stress caused by her marriage must have been at the root of her many many illnesses. She must have been quite a magnetic woman - beautiful and vivacious according to many of the sources throughout her life. That being said, I kept waiting to read about how she shaped life at court or the impact she had on history but have to admit that other than being connected to many other names I have heard and read about that did not seem to be the case.
Thanks to Helen Rappaport for introducing me to Julia and giving me so much information on her life. At times I have to admit that I struggled with keeping the many characters straight. Having the footnotes at the end of the chapters helped somewhat in making the connections between many of the characters.
Many thanks to Helen Rappaport, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this recently published book.

The Rebel Romanov is a curious read in a number of ways. It’s curious in that its subject, Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, is someone you probably haven’t heard of. It’s curious in how it depicts her. And it’s curious in its choice of title.

Julie (as she’s called in this book) reminded me a lot of that titular old movie character Zelig. Like him, Julie is adjacent to some of the major events of history in the early 1800s—the Napoleonic Wars, the English royal succession crisis, the creation of Belgium—but she’s not really involved with them. Instead, she’s primarily known for one thing: escaping a terrible marriage to a Russian grand duke.

Exactly how terrible, it’s hard to say. When her friends and family mentioned it, it was always in allusive terms. And for Rappaport, this must have been a challenge. On almost all fronts, there’s very little direct information about Julie; she burned much of her correspondence and asked those to whom she wrote to do so as well. The Rebel Romanov is full of “she must have thought” or “she might have wanted” kinds of statements. For a book about a woman who lived amid so much, The Rebel Romanov has a curiously hollow feel to it.

The title also seemed odd; Julie’s one act of “rebellion” was to escape her awful marriage. And that wasn’t so much a rebellion as it was an avoidance. She just kept creating excuses not to return to Russia once she left. Julie also came across as a retiring character. I picked up that she was beautiful and kind and liked music, and that was about it.

After a while, this book became a litany of secondary characters, some of whom had more interesting stories because they had more agency than Julie. The Rebel Romanov will interest those who want to know more about Russia, Germany, and Prussia during this time, but the woman at its center remained a mystery to me even after reading a few hundred pages about her.

The Rebel Romanov, by Helen Rappaport, is the sad story of a German princess from an aristocratic family of limited means who becomes the wife of Empress Catherine the Great's grandson in her early teens. Both families looked to gain financially and politically while the interests of the young people were of little concern. Based on the title, I think I expected more of this ill-fated princess. Though very real, her rebellion was entirely personal. She was horribly abused by almost every person from whom she had good reason to expect sympathy and protection, She had extramarital affairs. She left Russia. She found a new home in Europe. The writing is excellent. Despite herculean research, original source material was destroyed, leaving the author dependent on third party accounts and speculating about what the main characters might have felt. This might have worked better as historical fiction. Not for the first time, I was appalled by the Romanovs and European royalty in general. I was also bored. I didn't care much for the detailed accounts of travel, ball gowns, or castles. While I cannot fully recommend this book, I am very appreciative of the opportunity to read and digital ARC. Thank you NetGalley, St.Martin's Press, and the author.

She was her family's ticket to power, money and influence.

Once upon a time there lived a young girl of noble family who caught the eye of a prince. What looked like a fairy tale romance became instead a nightmare, with the naive and impetuous girl trapped in a royal household with a husband who treated her badly. Both would seek love in other's arms, and their ultimate split caused shockwaves through society. Sound familiar? No, this is not the tawdry saga of Charles and Diana, it is a story far worse....the tale of the German Princess Juliane of the Saxe-Coburg family, born in 1781 and (at the age of just 14 !) married off to the Grand Duke Konstantin, grandson of Catherine the Great and third in line to the Romanov throne. In Russia she would be known as the Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, though she remained Julie to her family. Her mother Auguste had accompanied Julie and her two older sisters Sophie and Antoinette on the 40 day, 1242 mile trek by carriage from Coburt to St Petersbury so that Konstantin (and of course Catherine) could meet the three sisters and choose which of the three would be the lucky bride...and it would be Julie whom he chose. The arduousness of the family's journey would be nothing compared to the life ahead of Julie in the Romanov court, rife with court intrigue, jealousy and gossip. Worst of all was the young man who became her husband, Konstantin, who in contrast to his older brother Alexander (a diligent student and their grandmother's favorite) was prone to bouts of extreme temper as well as erratic and often violent behavior. Julie made some allies in the court but would reach the point where she wanted nothing more than to return to her family. Her station in life was too important to the family's own position and financial status for them to countenance her abandonment of her husband and they refused to allow it. In a time where the daughters of noble and royal families were considered a drain on the families' resources and were regularly used as a commodity to improve finances and/or position, Julie's life was freely offered by her parents to the Romanovs in order to achieve their own dynastic goals. That she would be able to ultimately not only leave Russia but carve out her own life while travelling through other European countries and find love on her own terms makes her a remarkable woman of her time, yet one about whom few are aware.
Author Helen Rappaport had her work cut out for her in recreating the life of Julie of Saxe-Coburg, sister to King Leopold I of Belgium, sister-in-law to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and aunt to Great Britain's Queen Victoria. Julie destroyed most of her correspondence and journals, so much of what is known of her comes from secondary sources. Despite that, the book does an excellent job of portraying the lengthy carriage journey to St Petersburg, the opulent Romanov court, and the byzantine nature of arranged royal marriages and familial and political alliances across Europe during that period. While Julie herself was not someone who created history per se, it was her alliance with the Romanov court that would enable her siblings (both financially and through their new proximity to the Imperial Russian Court) to make fortuitous matches which would in fact do so. She was a rebel in a personal way, choosing her personal freedoms and well-being over financial security and acceptance in polite society. It was an interesting read, introducing me to a woman about whom I knew nothing. At times the preponderance of facts weighed down the narrative, but Julie intrigued me enough to keep going. Readers of Alison Weir, Robert K. Massie and Coryne Hall as well as those who are interested in learning a heretofore obscure bit of Russian history should give The Rebel Romanov a try. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me access to this well-researched historical biography of a woman who was able to set aside the duty imposed upon her and seek happiness on her own terms.

I've never had much luck with nonfiction, but the amount of research that went into this is truly impressive. It's probably worth giving another shot.

The Romanovs have always held a fascination in history. So much of the world's royalty at one time were members of the Romanovs. With the many intrigues accredited to this family, a large section of teh era's population were kin to them in one way or another. I'd not read any in depth history of Julie and found Helen Rappaport's detailed descriptions of her life an enjoyable read that added so many pieces to the puzzle.

I had a tough time rating this one, but ultimately I felt that this book had a lot of potential that just wasn't met.

Julie is the daughter of Franz and Auguste of Saxe-Coburg, a somewhat struggling German principality. She gets married off to Konstantin, the brother to the heir of the Russian throne (and thus becoming the granddaughter-in-law of Catherine the Great, who strategized the match). However, Konstantin is awful; Julie winds up returning to Europe and living the rest of her life there, mostly in Switzerland.

There are many points of intrigue here. Her life in the Russian court is brief but fascinating. She winds up having two (possibly three) illegitimate children, has affairs with multiple married men. Konstantin tries to reconcile with her, which could possibly have led to her becoming Tsarina (but maybe not). She has money problems. She's living through the Napoleonic Wars. Her niece and nephew are Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Her homes essentially become satellite Russian courts. Her brother becomes the King of Belgium. She may have had an affair with her brother-in-law Alexander, the tsarevitch. Her mother-in-law is the WORST.

The problem, though, is that while Rappaport's research is impeccable, not a ton is left from Julie's own point of view; she was big into burning correspondence and requested that others do the same. Rappaport mentions letters Julie has written, but the only ones to survive are the more anodyne ones and aren't quoted. So while a lot that's interesting is happening, the book is mostly details of Julie's illnesses and houses and guests. (I also struggled a bit because, reading this as an ARC, the family trees weren't yet included, so I couldn't reference the the way I wanted to!) We get hints of the good stuff, but Rappaport never delves into it. And Julie is only a rebel inasmuch that she left her husband, but then she...just kind of lived pretty quietly. The book also is quite detailed while Julie is in Russia, but then time moves inconsistently, with a lot of time jumps that are somewhat glossed over.

I will say that this would be the basis for a FANTASTIC tv series that can play with the truth in a way that Rappaport can't. And it gives an interesting look into life during the first half of the 19th century in Europe; I'd recommend to people interested in that era, and to people interested in the various intertwined European monarchies.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy!

🌟The Rebel Romanov is almost a masterclass in who's who and how the European royals were intricately connected. I found it particularly interesting to learn about the House of Saxe-Coburg and how they came to influence, if not outright rule, much of Europe and Russia, both directly and indirectly.

Though this book centers on Julie of Saxe-Coburg, it’s just as much about her mother, Auguste, also Queen Victoria’s grandmother. It’s fascinating to see how the trait of matchmaking seemed to pass from Auguste down to Victoria. Julie’s story, however, is the true heart of the book. It’s a heartbreaking tale: a vibrant, sparkling woman gradually turned reclusive by circumstance until her very existence nearly faded from the historical record.🌟

🕜The book is impressively well-researched, especially considering the limited material available. Despite the presence of many powerful historical figures, Julie’s story remains central and isn’t overshadowed, something that speaks to the author’s skill. Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, or Juliane, comes across as someone unfairly judged by history for daring to demand freedom and seek love and partnership.🕜

Thank you to St.Martin's Press for this book.

This book was just okay for me. I’m not a big reader of non-fiction but I was hoping it would read more like a story. I found it difficult to get through at times and a bit dense. However I think for someone who enjoys non-fiction this would be great. Julie Saxe-Coburg had a very atypical life for the times and I love that she made her escape from her awful husband and never looked back. It is nice to hear the details of her relationships and her attempts to live life on her own terms. I was gifted an e-copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

To begin with, I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and author Helen Rappaport for allowing me to read this book, The Rebel Romanov, via #netgalley. All opinions following are my own.

While I do enjoy historical reads, I don't read them often, and I have never reviewed one, so please bear with me!

In this novel, author Helen Rappaport brings to life the little-known story of Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg, who is later known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorova. With her parents setting their sights on getting their ducal out of debt, the beautiful Julie, along with her two sisters, are presented to Queen Catherine the Great of Russia, as potential brides for her grandson Konstantine. When Julie is chosen at the young age of 14, she was thrust into the heart of the Russian imperial family, where she endured emotional abuse, isolation, and court pressures, especially from Konstantine himself and her mother-in-law.

After years of abuse, Julie ultimately fled Russia, refused to return to her husband, and defied the expectations of her royal role. She is an enigma. She is revered and adored but could also be described as rebellious and stubborn. Without Rappaport's biography, though, little would have continued to have been known about Julie.

While I enjoyed this book, I sometimes found it hard to follow with foreign languages thrust into ordinary sentences. Therefore, after much deliberation, I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️. If any readers enjoy historical biographies, be sure to check this one out. The publication day was only yesterday, April 15!

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I’d never heard of Julie of Saxe-Coburg but was intrigued by the book title ‘The Rebel Romanov.’ Saying life was difficult is an understatement for a 14 year old leaving her county to marry an abusive man. A lot of information regarding Julie was lost or destroyed but the author clearly did her research and presented it well. I enjoyed this book and the opportunity to learn more about Romanov history.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

A very interesting biography of Julie of Saxe-Coburg.
Well researched and clearly written.
I was truly fascinated by this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own
The Romanov family is always an interesting topic to explore, and I liked diving a little further back in history to the 19th century and seeing how interwoven the Romanov-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha connections were, even then. Julie is an aunt of Queen Victoria, who in turn is grandmother to the ill-fated Alexandra who married Nicholas II, for example. And seeing Julie’s connections to her siblings, like the ambitious Leopold (later King of Belgium) was cool. And despite being from a very powerful family and being married into the Russian imperial family to further their political power, I appreciated the insight into what made her a bit of a “rebel,” seeking solace outside her loveless marriage to her Russian prince and eventually obtaining a divorce, although it didn’t come without scandal. I do think calling her “the Empress Russia Never Had” overstates her importance, however, both given her then-husband’s apathy for the position and it’s not as if she had the opportunity to bring about major social or political change. Some of that is a result of circumstance, but the case that the world would have been dramatically different had she not divorced her husband is not made. And what with her story being largely obscured from the history books, a lot of the book was padded with extra material about the politics of the time, and this, in addition to the writing, made for a rather tedious read at times. But it’s still worth a try to gain a more expansive view on Russian and European history, as well as highlighting the life of a woman the history books have obscured.

This book was so well researched, I learned so much from reading this. I have always been interested in the Romanov dynasty and the time period around their reign. This book definitely gave me more information than I had ever known I was missing. This was a great read.

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

What an interesting biography of Julie of Saxe-Coburg. I knew many of the names, of course, before reading this, but knew nothing of Julie. This rich and well-written book reveals a woman in what appeared to be a fairy tale life but in reality it was miserable. How she chose to rescue herself is an engrossing story. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of history.