The Rebel Romanov

‘What a wonderful book! The storytelling, the research, the deep love of her subject - this must be the climax of Rappaport’s long and illustrious career’ – Lucy Worsley ‘Beautifully written, incredibly moving and illuminates the whole age’ – Jessie Childs ‘Rappaport’s account of this pretty, spirited and flirtatious young woman’s dismal time in Russia is absorbing’ – Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *‘A nimble guide through the stately jumble of German dynasties’ * New Statesman *‘Accomplished and richly detailed’ * Country Life *‘Sparkling… A captivating historical saga of a woman in revolt’ * Publishers Weekly *‘A brisk rendering of tumultuous times…[and of] a woman caught in the whirlwind of history’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘What a wonderful book! The storytelling, the research, the deep love of her subject - this must be the climax of Rappaport’s long and illustrious career’ – Lucy Worsley ‘Beautifully written, incredibly moving and illuminates the whole age’ – Jessie Childs ‘Rappaport’s account of this pretty, spirited and flirtatious young woman’s dismal time in Russia is absorbing’ – Miranda Seymour * Literary Review *‘A nimble guide through the stately jumble of German dynasties’ * New Statesman *‘Accomplished and richly detailed’ * Country Life *‘Sparkling… A captivating historical saga of a woman in revolt’ * Publishers Weekly *‘A brisk rendering of tumultuous times…[and of] a woman caught in the whirlwind of history’ * Kirkus Reviews *

Helen Rappaport was born in Bromley, Kent, and studied Russian at Leeds University before working as a translator and copy editor. She has been a full-time writer for more than twenty-three years. In 2003, she discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole, which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. This discovery sparked a long investigation into Seacole’s life and career.