Taking advantage of material unavailable until the fall of the Soviet Union, this biography of Alexandra explores: her childhood bereavement; her long struggle to attain her romantic goal of marriage to Nicholas; and her growing dependence on occult mentors, the most notorious of whom was Rasputin.

Taking advantage of material unavailable until the fall of the Soviet Union, this biography of Alexandra, the last tsarina, explores: her childhood bereavement; her long struggle to attain her romantic goal of marriage to Nicholas; the anguish of her pathological shyness; the struggles with her in-laws; a false pregnancy; her increasing eccentricities as she became more preoccupied with matters of faith; and her growing dependence on a series of occult mentors, the most notorious of whom was Rasputin.