The Tsarina’s Daughter

Alpsten impresses with the second volume of her trilogy (following Tsarina), focusing on Elizabeth Petrovna Romanova, daughter of Tsar Peter the Great and Catherine I, who ruled Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. An opening tease signals a grim tale of ruthless determination. In 1741, Elizabeth, 31, the only one of Peter’s 15 children still alive, must decide whether to claim the throne. Her quandary: she believes that doing so is her country’s only hope of avoiding foreign domination, but it would also displace her one-year-old cousin Ivan. Before she decides, Alpsten traces an arc from Elizabeth’s teen years to her assumption of power. That backstory presents the harsh choices her predecessors made; for example, her father personally executed his son Tsarevich Alexey, Elizabeth’s half brother, after Alexey became the leader of a movement opposed to the Tsar’s reforms aimed at modernizing the country. Elizabeth also experienced the loss of numerous loved ones, including both her parents, and a tumultuous romantic life, given that her preferences for a spouse were secondary to political considerations. While readers will know how the opening drama is resolved, Alpsten’s gifts at laying on evocative period detail and engendering empathy for her characters will keep the pages turning. This leaves the series nicely poised for the finale. (Mar.)