The Faberge Secret

Tsar Nicholas II was, at best, a controversial figure. A man who dearly loved his family, it might have been better for Russia (or, at least, for the Russian Empire) if he had never actually come to power. The 1905 Revolution occurred during his reign, and his poor leadership was a significant reason for Russia’s struggles during the First World War.

The Fabergé Secret does not go as far as the war, but it does bring up another troubling aspect of the Russian Empire: its treatment of the Jewish population. Most Jews were forced to live in the Pale of Settlement, and there were frequent pogroms where Jews were attacked and killed.

Into this come Grand Prince Dimitri Markhov and Dr. Katya Golitsyn, both of whom find themselves increasingly drawn away from the Tsar… and increasingly drawn toward each other. The Fabergé Secret is the sort of romance I would ordinarily love––filled with intrigue and set in the dying days of an empire––but the writing is at times overly expository, and the characters as thin as those in a morality play. I enjoyed the book, but not enough to be truly wrapped up in it.