The early chapters bring to life the childhood years of the young Princess Dagmar of Denmark, her engagement to Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich, his untimely death and the effect this tragedy had on her.

The chapters on her wedding and life in St. Petersburg in the 1860s are well written and highly detailed, taking the reader back in time to the Golden Years of Imperial Russia before the assassination of Alexander II.

After the Coronation of Alexander III much of the book reflects on Marie as not only Empress but as a dutiful wife and mother.

This biography acts as a useful source of information on Nicholas’ upbringing and youth and his family relations as Emperor. Of particular interest are the sections dealing with Marie’s attempts to discredit Rasputin as a means of persuading Nicholas to terminate the former’s influence over Alexandra.

The book ends with the Russian Revolution forcing the Dowager Empress into exile in Denmark where she lived out the rest of her years. The biography is still one of the finest accounts of the life of one of the most beloved members of the Russian Imperial Family.

* Please note that this is a quality, hard cover reproduction of the original 1926 edition of Mother Dear: The Empress Marie and Her Time, complete with the original text and photographs.