The problem with reading historical fiction is that you are never
quite sure what constitutes truth versus fiction. Unless you are a
noted expert on the book's subject matter, you are bound to be iffy
on which particulars are 100% true versus those that have been
stretched and pulled for dramatic effect.

In Robert Alexander's new novel, RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER, the minutiae
of Grigori Rasputin's (the Russian religious healer and trusted
advisor to Tsar Nicholas and Tsaritsa Alexandra) last days are
recounted with vivid detail and what seems like stunning accuracy,
as if the book were a biography and not fiction. Retold from the
perspective of Rasputin's eldest daughter Matryona Grigoevna
(Maria), the myths of how Rasputin died are dispelled and a
proposed answer to the question of how he was actually killed is
spelled out. Much like his imagined (yet impeccably researched)
account of the Romanovs' hideous executions during the Russian
Revolution in the bestselling THE KITCHEN BOY, the story of
Rasputin's final hours is riveting, fast-paced, and almost too
comprehensive to be historical fiction. At times, you just want it
all to be proven fact.

The novel opens as Maria is being questioned by the Thirteenth
Section in April 1917 about her father's mysterious death. Through
a succession of flashbacks, Maria describes the last week of her
father's life in December 1916, set against the backdrop of a
highly unstable Russian empire that is fraught with political
upheaval and civil unrest. She recounts in great detail his
numerous excursions to the Imperial Palace, and more than hints at
the direct correlation between Heir Aleksei Nikolaevich's
miraculous recoveries from hemophilia-related injuries and
Rasputin's curative powers. She gives reports of his disgraceful
sexual appetite and reveals his secret extramarital relationship
with their longtime live-in maid, Dunya, yet also insists that he
was both kind to and forgiving of his many petitioners and did what
he could to alleviate their suffering. Through Maria's eyes,
Rasputin is portrayed as a tortured and complex character ---
spiritually gifted and fallibly human.

Possibly one of the book's greatest fallacies (and yet,
paradoxically, what will probably make it more palatable to those
who prefer his mysteries, written under the name R.D. Zimmerman) is
Alexander's devotion to Maria's supposed romance with the
mysterious Sasha, whom she meets on a boat while traveling with her
sister and Dunya, and whom she "runs into" throughout the next few
years of her life. Although certainly an endearing plot thread, at
times it reads almost too much like a romance novel and some
readers might wonder when the plot will focus again on meatier
subject matters --- the "historical" behind the fiction.

All mushy romantic encounters aside, it is without question that
Alexander has done his research when recreating pre-revolutionary
Russia. There is much talk of princes and empresses, courts and
royal feasts --- all intricately examined and lavishly portrayed.
Vodka is consumed in copious amounts and secret, mysterious plots
are being hatched behind every dark corner. Like every good Russian
novel, the threat of deceit is always in the air and, in the end,
what unfolds is a plot twist (as much as a novel based on fact can
contain a "twist") that will delight even the most knowledgeable of
readers.

Overall, RASPUTIN'S DAUGHTER is certainly enjoyable and enough to
digest in one sitting, if given the time. What the book might have
benefited from is an addendum that aims to separate conjecture from
documented history, so readers (like this reviewer) will not be
left with nagging questions about the book's legitimacy long after
the excitement of the story dies down.