Two Lives of Grand Duke Michael

Michael Roman

Description

A vivid and well-researched novel about Grand Duke Michael who briefly reigned as the last Tsar of Russia. Fully illustrated to show the assets used and resume of important political and armed forces leaders of time. No other books have taken a slice of Russian history and reinterpreted it to reveal a hidden story; one of survival against the odds and adventures that extend from Russia to the UK, Denmark and Estonia.. In The Two Lives of Grand Duke Michael, numerous historical high-ranking figures are set within an audacious plot in a 'what if' drama against the backdrop of the First World War and which could have changed 20th Century history. The allies plan to invade Russia, destroy the Bolshevik Revolution and bring back Russia to war with Germany on the eastern front. Lured by the idea of becoming the Tsar of the reinstated Imperial Rule, Michael is swayed by Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill to bring him out of Bolshevik Russia to the UK. The purpose is to agree terms and incorporate Michael's 'Prometheus Accord' for political renewal and freedom in Russia. The ensuing two-week journey provides high adventure and gripping entertainment as he journeys in exotic cars, battleships, sea planes and secret German submarines, and with the additional intent of secreting a multi-million pound hoard of Romanov treasures on the Yorkshire coast in the UK. It comes to a halting stop when, as history tells us, the Grand Duke Michael's attempts to defeat the emergence of Bolshevism is thwarted, and he is assassinated whilst under house arrest in Siberia. Here the story is set for the author's imagined second chapter for Grand Duke Michael. He carefully crafts, in detail, the revelation of his survival. How he is helped by Sidney Reilly of MI6, and his second life in the UK under a new identity and care of the British Secret Service whilst working at Bletchley Park in World War Two.

Sujets

• Historical fiction
• Russia
• Russie

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 avril 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789010664
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Copyright © 2018 Michael Roman

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This book is a work of fiction with a background of historical fact. The author has created a ‘what if’ scenario in the life of the main characters, Grand Duke Michael Romanov and his secretary Nicholas Johnson using a time line in the first half of the 20th century.

He introduces political, armed forces and other peoples of that time to enhance the parts played out by the main characters, whilst endeavouring to portray a largely fictional novel. He would stress that any inclusion of a historical person has been shown to the best portrayal of their characteristics, avoiding harm to their historical lives and descendants. Fictional characters are also introduced and any resemblance to any real people or incidents are purely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781789010664

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Quotes
‘Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy then an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then it becomes a tyrant and, in the last stage, just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.’

‘The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.’

‘Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.’


Winston Churchill
Dedication
To my life long buddy and solumate…

who died just before this book went into publication. A man of immense presence, persuasion, whilst offering sound advice, and whose life became a mantra to my own aspirations. A Churchillian figure in bulldog looks and attitude with points of view sometimes challenging but often enlightening. His life was inspirational of these two quotations from Winston Churchill.

‘Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.’

And

‘If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time, with a tremendous whack.’

Malcolm Horsfall, September 1946–November 2017.
With Thanks
Hannah, who is a very beautful woman inside and out, for her support and inspiring me to use her as a role model for one of my main characters… Olga Bystrovia.
Colin my brother, who provided the opportunity to make for him a ‘Fabergé Egg’, which was the catalyst of this novel.
Adrian my friend, who listened with enthusiasm and encouragement to my first expounding of the content of this novel.
Malcolm, my life long childhood friend, who provided a peaceful platform at his log cabin in the Rockies to help me create a bucket list which kickstarted this novel… and at this precise moment of penning these thanks to him, I received the most awful news from his wife Shirley that he had died.
Colin Sidaway, a fellow author I had a chance meeting with whilst admiring our classic cars in a Motorway service station. He encouraged me with these words… ‘Just get on with it yourself and self-publish, in spite of your many refusals from publishing agents.’
Acknowledgements
Wikipedia and Wikimedia, for supplying the free encyclopedia platform to the public that anyone can edit. Started in 2001, it currently contains over five and a half millions articles.
Rosemary and Donald Crawford for the historical facts they have re-produced in their book, Michael and Natasha . A historical account of a true love story combined with tragedy, in the last days of the Romanov Dynasty.
Contents
Quotes
Dedication
With Thanks
Acknowledgements
Author’s Preface
Antecedent
Prologue
Appendix I Introducing the characters

Part I Michael’s First Life
1 Albert Stopford and Romanov Treasures
2 Michael and Johnson
3 Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Treasures
4 Rolls-Royce Treasures
5 Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George
6 Ethel
7 Sowing the Seeds of Ascendancy
8 The Reilly Plan
9 Acceptance of the Reilly Plan
10 Carl Fabergé
11 D-Day
12 The Royal Yacht Standart
13 The Iron Duke
14 Meeting with Churchill
15 Unescorted Home Run
16 U-Boat Attacks
17 Sea Plane to Scarborough
18 Top Brass at the Grand Hotel
19 Retrieving the Royal Treasures
20 King George V
21 Return to Filey
22 Burial of the Treasures
23 Seaplane to Denmark
24 Meeting the King and Queen of Denmark
25 U-151
26 Tallinn
27 Home to Gatchina
28 Stopford! Of All People
29 Doctor Johnson?
30 Arrest and Exile to Perm
31 Perm
32 Plotting to Assassinate
Appendix II Places of Interest

Part ii Michael’s Second Life
33 Barely Alive
34 Flight to Archangel
35 Michael, a British Subject
36 Natasha’s Exile to England
37 1919: Michael’s New Life
38 1926: From Hospital to a New World
39 1934: Michael and Olga
40 1936: Fear of War
41 Michael’s Awakening
42 To Russia with Love
43 Michael Awakes
44 England… Home!
45 1939: The Second World War
46 1945: Life of Bliss
47 1946: Union and Heir
48 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
49 An Heir
50 1947: Michael’s Battle Continues
51 Natasha Completes the Circle
Appendix III Assets Used in the Journeys
Author’s Preface
There are no other books which have taken a slice of history and manufactures an historical event of a member of the Russian Imperial Royal family to produce a hero from semi-obscurity. Numerous historical high ranking political and armed forces figures are set within an audacious plot during the background of WW1.
Lenin, in 1918, encouraged the assassination of the only Romanov who undoubtedly could have changed the shape of 20th century history. The weaving of history into a credible ‘what if’ of the brother of the assassinated Tsar Nicholas II, which could have changed the whole order through his perilous two week round trip to the UK in 1918… and but for his assassination, the dream of freeing Russia from the early days of Communism… was ended.
It fulfils the readers need for a powerful story that transports us into the life and world of a tragic yet heroic figure in history. He was the very first of the Romanov Dynasty, preceding the fate of the ex-tsar Nicholas II and his family, to be assassinated…
Rumours, theories and tales of torture have echoed through the years, inspiring wild speculation, and fantastic claims of the ‘truth’ of the final days of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch Romanov.
The Two lives of Grand Duke Michael is a unique epic novel that takes place in the first half of 1918 and challenges fact over fiction in this interplay of a historical drama, a tragic love story and an account of espionage and shocking state duplicity. It questions the accepted views in a compelling and entertaining read.
This novel draws on historical fact and imaginative thinking which creates his two lives and two wives in a ‘what if’ drama. The Grand Duke’s heroic attempts to defeat the emergence of Bolshevism and his subsequent assassination whilst under house arrest in the near Siberian city of Perm are a tragic ending to a life which could have changed the world order and avoided millions of deaths in those dark decades to come. Now this, the first comprehensive account, draws attention to the Grand Duke, who is understood to have briefly reigned as the last Tsar of Russia.
According to contemporary accounts, Michael was seized from a hotel in Perm where he was sent into exile, and bundled into a carriage along with his secretary, loyal friend and confidante, Nicholas Johnson. They were then taken to a clearing in a forest outside the city. There they were assassinated.
Crucially, the only undisputed fact is that no remains have ever been found, despite extensive searches in this century. The novel challenges the accepted account and paints a much different picture, with a careful and detailed revealing of Michael II’s survival against the odds, helped by British secret service officers, including Sidney Reilly of MI6 – the ‘Ace of Spies’ ‒ and the new life he built in the United Kingdom. He was given a new identity, and closely monitored by MI6, for whom he eventually worked at Bletchley Park.
Drawing from historical documents and extensive research, the author makes interesting, controversial challenges to commonly held beliefs. He reveals the duplicity of Michael II’s first cousin, King George V of the United Kingdom and the government headed by David Lloyd George. The vivid narrative uses the author’s imagination, to construct a credible and exciting story of one of the greatest adven