The Last Grand Duchess

(Run Time: approx. 11 hours)

This sweeping novel takes readers behind palace walls to see the end of Imperial Russia through the eyes of Olga Nikolaevna Romanov, the first daughter of the last tsar.

Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for her and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother's ill health, their brother Alexei's secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the tsarina has come to rely. Olga's only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from the grand tea parties her aunt hosts amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg — a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.

But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia's military officers. As troubling rumors about her parents trickle in from the front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end three hundred years of Romanov rule.

At turns glittering and harrowing, The Last Grand Duchess is a story about dynasty, duty, and love, but above all, it's the story of a family who would choose devotion to each other over everything — including their lives.

Bryn Turnbull (Author) is an internationally bestselling author of historical fiction. Equipped with a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews, a Master of Professional Communication from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from McGill University, Bryn focuses on finding stories of women lost within the cracks of the historical record.

Her debut novel, The Woman Before Wallis, was named one of the top ten bestselling works of Canadian fiction for 2020 and became an international bestseller. Her second, The Last Grand Duchess, came out in February 2022 and spent eight weeks on the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star bestseller lists. Her third novel, The Paris Deception, was published in May 2023.

Mary Jane Wells (Narrator) trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, doing theatre in the UK and Europe for 12 years prior to her long-term love affair with the US. She is an award-winning actor and writer who has performed at The Mark Taper Forum with an adaptation of French classic, The Red Balloon, returning later with a solo show, Martha, which toured to the Annenberg Centre, the Kennedy Center, the New Victory on Broadway, and at an international showcase in Philadelphia. She has toured extensively with the Smithsonian and Honolulu Theatre.

Her next new solo show, The Good Girl, is a recent recipient of sponsorship. She partners with Author’s Republic, Capital Theatres and The Kennedy Center from the very beginning — for what she hopes will be an irreverently hilarious new show for those who care for and live with Dementia.

It is her wildest dream to serve with storytelling and create appropriate social impact where possible. maryjanewells.org