The Lost Daughter
by Gill Paul
Amazon US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / HarperCollins
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 27, 2019)
If you loved I Am Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon you won’t want to miss this novel about her sister, Grand Duchess Maria. What really happened to this lost Romanov daughter? A new novel perfect for anyone curious about Anastasia, Maria, and the other lost Romanov daughters, by the author of The Secret Wife.
1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household. Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite are clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family—never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death
1973: When Val Doyle hears her father’s end-of-life confession, “I didn’t want to kill her,” she’s stunned. So, she begins a search for the truth—about his words and her past. The clues she discovers are baffling—a jewel-encrusted box that won’t open and a camera with its film intact. What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world’s greatest mysteries—what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
The minutes crawled interminably, so slow she suspected the clock had been tampered with in order to torture them.
That evening, she explained to Nicole that a judge had decided she did not have to visit her daddy anymore. “OK.” Nicole nodded, quite happy with this. “Will I get a new daddy now? What do we have to do? Should we apply somewhere?”
If you can help someone without harming anyone else, then why on earth wouldn’t you do it?
My Review:
This was my first experience of being immersed in Gill Paul’s epic storytelling and I am beyond impressed. The Lost Daughter was beautifully written, lushly descriptive, and heartbreakingly realistic. Her emotive writing was taut with tension and pulled me right inside her characters’ various storylines. I felt my chest tighten as if I were fleeing with them and racing for escape while in danger of capture. The book spanned 90 years with an intriguing and enthralling fusion of fact and fiction. The story hit all the feels and I was enthralled, educated, and horrified yet highly entertained by Ms. Paul’s absorbing and well-crafted tale.
I was provided with a review copy of this sweeping tale by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.
About the Author
Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specializing in relatively recent history. She has written two novels about the last Russian royal family: The Secret Wife, published in 2016, which tells the story of cavalry officer Dmitri Malama and Grand Duchess Tatiana, the second daughter of Russia’s last tsar; and The Lost Daughter, published in October 2018, that tells of the attachment Grand Duchess Maria formed with a guard in the house in Ekaterinburg where the family was held from April to July 1918.
Gill’s other novels include Another Woman’s Husband, about links you may not have been aware of between Wallis Simpson, later Duchess of Windsor, and Diana, Princess of Wales; Women and Children First, about a young steward who works on the Titanic; The Affair, set in Rome in 1961–62 as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton fall in love while making Cleopatra; and No Place for a Lady, about two Victorian sisters who travel out to the Crimean War of 1854–56 and face challenges beyond anything they could have imagined.
Find out more about Gill at her website, and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.
Oh, this looks like a worthwhile read.
I love reading about the Romanovs any chance I get, so thank you for highlighting this book. I’m glad you enjoyed it and I love your review. I’ll definitely add it to my TBR.
I have read stories featuring the Romanov’s and enjoy books where fact and fiction collide. This sounds like a historical book that I would enjoy. I want it!
Amazing review my friend, this is the first time I have heard or seen this book and it looks and sounds absolutely amazing and very emotional as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.
That last quote…. that should be posted absolutely everywhere in the world. No question. Thank you so much for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours
I like the sound of this one!
Another five star read, you are on a roll. 🙂 Great review.
Totally Addicted to Reading
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great review, not something I’ve read much about before.
Glad you enjoyed this but not my kind of read.
Great review!
Oh – love reading about the Romanov family. Have you read Romanov by Nadine Brandes?
No, I haven’t. I’ll check it out – thanx!
Educated, horrified and yet entertained. Babes, this sounds fantastic. I haven’t read any of her books. Though I have bought 1 and forgotten. Growing pile of books