DAUGHTERS OF A DEAD EMPIRE, by Carolyn Tara O’Neil, Roaring Brook Press, Feb. 22, 2022, Hardcover, $18.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
Daughters of a Dead Empire, by Carolyn Tara O’Neil, is a compelling take on the Anastasia Romanov myth.
Russia, 1918: With the execution of Tsar Nicholas, the empire crumbles and Russia is on the edge of civil war ― the poor are devouring the rich. Anna, a bourgeois girl, narrowly escaped the massacre of her entire family in Yekaterinburg. Desperate to get away from the Bolsheviks, she offers a peasant girl a diamond to take her as far south as possible ― not realizing that the girl is a communist herself. With her brother in desperate need of a doctor, Evgenia accepts Anna’s offer and suddenly finds herself on the wrong side of the war.
Anna is being hunted by the Bolsheviks, and now ― regardless of her loyalties ― Evgenia is too. —Synopsis provided by Roading Brook Press
In Daughters of a Dead Empire, readers are asked to consider an alternate version of the Russian Revolution — one where the Tsar’s youngest daughter not only escaped execution but remembered every bit of it, too.
While scientific tests have proven that none of the Romanovs survived, Anastasia’s fate has always been questioned. Author Carolyn Tara O’Neil builds on those suspicions and supports them with facts from that fateful night, creating a narrative that feels plausible.
While the historical backdrop of Daughters of a Dead Empire is the initial draw, it’s the book’s two main characters that will keep you coming back for more. Anna and Evgenia come from disparate backgrounds, making them unlikely allies. Each believes strongly in their cause and wants nothing more than for those causes to succeed. But as the two spend time with each other, they realize they are not so different and their causes may not be so just.
Set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, Daughters of a Dead Empire is not a particularly easy read. The subject matter is dark and there is realistic violence throughout. I recommend it for older, more mature young adults (ages 15 and up) and as a crossover for adults.
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