Today, our travels take us to a place that has always fascinated me. Thanks to Joy Preble’s new novel, Haunted, the second book in her Dreaming Anastasia series, I was inspired to revisit Russia during the time of Tsar Nicholas II. Though the Joy’s novel takes place in modern times and in New York, the story of the Tsar and his doomed family is one that is very sad and still fairly recent in history.

With elements like the suspicious character of Rasputin, the illness of the young son, the deep affections of the Tsar and Tsarina, and of course, the mystery surrounding Anastasia, it has all the workings of an amazing work of fiction.

But, the story of the Romanovs and their ultimate tragedy is all too real. So, we’ll put away the sadness and focus on the happy times. The following images reflect the splendour and romance of the last royal family in Russia.

I romanticize about this time, with horse drawn carriages, splendid balls, huge fur coats to stave off the sharp Russian winter. I wasn’t able to post this without further mention of the end of the reign of the Tsar and his family, but it is as much a part of their story as the finery is. Bitter cold and tragic reality aside, this is definitely one place at the top of my must visit list. What do you think?

About Jackie

Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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