Escape of the Grand Duchess
By Susan Appleyard
By Susan Appleyard
Publication Date: 27th July 2025
Publisher: Ingenium Books Publishing Inc.
Page Length: 412
Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction
Escape of the Grand Duchess by Susan Appleyard is a gripping historical novel that shatters the notion that royalty is synonymous with privilege and ease. At its heart is Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II—a Romanov who defied a doomed destiny and survived.
Unlike her ill-fated brother and his family, Olga’s story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and daring escape. Trapped in a loveless marriage to a reckless gambler—who harbours secrets of his own—she finds hope in the arms of a dashing army lieutenant. But before she can claim her own happiness, she must first endure the brutal realities of World War I, where she serves as a nurse on the frontlines.
As the Russian Empire teeters on the brink of collapse, the infamous Siberian mystic Rasputin tightens his grip on the imperial court, setting the stage for revolution. With the Bolsheviks seizing power and the Romanovs marked for death, Olga faces an impossible choice: risk everything to stay or flee into the unknown with her true love and their children.
Rich in historical detail and driven by an unforgettable heroine, Escape of the Grand Duchess is a sweeping riches-to-rags tale of survival, love, and the strength it takes to forge a new life in the face of unimaginable upheaval.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cover Art: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I finished Escape of the Grand Duchess completely absorbed by it. I’ve read quite a lot about the Romanovs over the years, but this is one of the few novels that made them feel like real people rather than distant historical figures in jewels and uniforms. Susan Appleyard gives Olga such a warm, honest voice that I felt as though I was living through events alongside her.
What I loved most was Olga’s relationship with her brother, Nicholas II. There’s such genuine affection between them, and you can feel her loyalty to him even when she can clearly see the mistakes being made around him. The tragedy is that he comes across as a decent, gentle man completely out of his depth and increasingly isolated. Olga sees it happening but is powerless to stop it, which makes the story all the more heartbreaking.
I also thought the portrayal of Alexandra Feodorovna was fascinating. The book doesn’t turn her into a villain, but it really captures how detached she became from the rest of the family and from ordinary people. There’s this constant sense that she made very little effort with others and withdrew further and further into herself, relying almost entirely on Rasputin and shutting out anyone who disagreed with her. You can feel the frustration from Olga and the rest of the family as they watch the damage being done but can’t break through to her.
And the sections involving Grigori Rasputin were incredibly well done — unsettling without becoming melodramatic. The atmosphere around him feels claustrophobic and ominous, especially knowing where history is heading. The growing hysteria, gossip and political chaos surrounding him hangs over the whole second half of the novel like a storm cloud.
But honestly, the emotional blow of the book comes later, when Olga learns what has happened to her brothers and the imperial family. Even though we all know the history, those scenes still hit hard. The uncertainty, the rumours, the desperate hope that someone might have survived — it’s written in such a human way. Olga’s grief feels very raw and private, not dramatic for the sake of it. I actually had to put the book down for a bit after those chapters.
What stayed with me afterwards was the sense of everything being slowly stripped away: power, home, security, family, identity. Yet somehow Olga survives with her compassion intact. By the end, her quiet resilience felt far more impressive than all the imperial splendour at the beginning.
A beautifully written, deeply moving novel that feels both intimate and epic at the same time. One of the best historical novels I’ve read in ages. Easily five stars.
Pick up your copy of
Escape of the Grand Duchess
Susan Appleyard
Susan was born in England, which is where she learned to love English history, and now lives in Canada in the summer. In winter she and her husband flee the cold for their second home in Mexico. Susan divides her time between writing and her hobby, oil painting, although writing will always be her first love. She was fortunate in having had two books published traditionally. Since joining the ebook crowd, she has published nine books, some of which have won various awards.
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