Helen Rappaport

On 23rd February 1854, the Scots Fusilier Guards marched past Buckingham Palace en route to the Crimea, as Queen Victoria bowed and waved proudly from the balcony. The women were left to face a bleak uncertain future although many of them were actively engaged in the war, often in the most surprising ways.

On 17 July 1918, the whole of the Russian Imperial Family was murdered. There were no miraculous escapes. The former Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their children - Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey - were all tragically gunned down in a blaze of bullets.

Historian Helen Rappaport set out to uncover why the Romanovs' European royal relatives and the Allied governments failed to save them. It was not, ever, a simple case of one British King's loss of nerve. In this race against time, many other nations and individuals were facing political and personal challenges of the highest order.

Through countless twists and turns, this revelatory work unpicks many false claims and conspiracies, revealing the fiercest loyalty, bitter rivalries and devastating betrayals as the Romanovs, imprisoned, awaited their fate.

At only 18 years old, Victoria ascended the throne as a rebellious teenager and gradually grew to become one of the most memorable, unshakeable and powerful women in history. The extensive writings she left behind document this personal journey and show how she triumphed over scandal and corruption.