European Royalty discussion

***RUSSIAN, GERMAN OR AUSTRIAN***

***ANY TIME PERIOD, FICTION OR NON-FICTION***

Okay everyone, it's that time of the month and I didn't forget it - time to nominate! Anyone who would like to nominate ONE book may do so in this thread.

The theme this month is RUSSIAN, GERMAN OR AUSTRIAN (any time period, fiction or non-fiction). The book doesn't have to be set in any of these countries the entire time, so there can be some flexibility (like if a book covers quite a bit of Marie Antoinette's youth in Austria, that would be fine to nominate even though she ends up in France).

Please try to check amazon or some other site to make sure the book is easily available - the last thing we want is to nominate some great book that no one can get! If you nominate more than ONE book, only the first book listed will make it into the voting thread (so save additional books for the next months!). Also, if the book doesn't fit the theme, I won't add it to this month's voting list, but I will carry it over to the next theme that it does fit under if you would like.

Feel free to nominate one book of your choice in this thread until December 31st, 9pm Eastern (or realistically, until whenever I close this thread and start the voting thread which may be on January 1st).

At around that time, I'll make a voting thread and list all the nominated books, and people can vote for one book off of that list until January 4th around 9pm Eastern. Discussion can start on January 15th.

Happy Nominating!

I nominate

The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria



by Joan Haslip

I've been wanting to read about her forever! Amazon states: "Consort to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, Elizabeth was a modern woman who fled the confines of Habsburg to roam free--she fancied dangerous riding, sailing and poetry--but her life ended with [I cut it out in case people don't know:]. "Haslip writes with vividness and immediacy... a serious book which is highly readable." --Edward Crankshaw."

I nominate

Rasputin's Daughter by Robert Alexander



This book is historical fiction and recounts Rasputing's last days from the eyes of his daughter. A while back I read Alexander's The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Czar, which was excellent.

Both books look good -
But I have to say, The Kitchen boy (that Sera mentioned) looks even better!

Can I nominate it?

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

Yeah, you definitely can nominate it Mandy! I'm glad we have at least three to choose from now (ha, and I've wanted to read all three of these!).

I've heard a lot of good things about Alexander's books, but that's one author who hasn't been picked up by my county library. There's always the ILL program though - I've rarely struck out yet, matter of fact my latest request in Anand's Bridges Over Time series is showing up on my hold list. Counting sale price on the book and shipping costs about a $10 savings.

Nominating closed! Time to vote!