Bryn Turnbull's historical novel The Last Grand Duchess narrates the story of Olga Romanov, the eldest child of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and granddaughter of England's Queen Victoria. Olga was born in November 1895, and grew up a coddled royal child beloved by her parents and surrounded by servants, nannies and governesses. As the Romanov children grew up, visitors and the palace staff were surprised to discover that the strange mystic Grigori Rasputin, a favorite of the tsar and tsarina, was allowed to visit with them in the nursery. When one of the nannies complained, remarking of Rasputin, "He's always there, goes into the nursery, visits Olga and Tatiana while they are getting ready for bed, sits there talking to them and caressing them," she was fired soon after.

Like most female royal children throughout history, Olga's primary purpose was to secure an advantageous marriage. There were rumors that she might be wed to the Crown Prince of Serbia or Bulgaria's ...