Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)

Born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra married Nicholas II in 1894 and became empress of Russia. She was the mother of four daughters and the haemophiliac heir Alexei, whose illness contributed to her trust in the religious adviser Grigori Rasputin.

During World War I Alexandra’s German birth and perceived political influence intensified hostility towards the monarchy. She was confined with her family after the revolution and murdered at Ekaterinburg in 1918. Her political unpopularity, reliance on Grigori Rasputin during her son’s illness and role within the wartime monarchy made her central to the final Romanov years.

John Boyne’s The House of Special Purpose places Alexandra Feodorovna inside the final years of the Romanov court, where the fictional narrator’s proximity to the imperial family carries the story from palace life towards revolution, captivity and execution. C. W. Gortner’s The Romanov Empress approaches Alexandra through her mother-in-law, Maria Feodorovna, presenting the two women’s strained relationship alongside Nicholas II’s reign, Rasputin’s influence and the political collapse that destroys the dynasty.