Perspective

The author, Robert K. Massie, is the father of a hemophiliac, and this is how he became interested in the Romanov family. He is a writer and author who found something in common with the last Tsar and his family through both of their sons being stricken with the same disease. Massie was interested in how the Romanov family dealt with the disease that came from the genetic lineage of Queen Victoria. His knowledge of hemophilia and its recurrence through the family of Queen Victoria is evident throughout the book. His experience as the parent of a hemophiliac also gives him a special insight into the feelings and actions of many of the Romanov characters as they deal with the disease on a daily basis.

Massie is well qualified to write the book since he is a writer who majored in history at Yale and Oxford. His attention...