While there are many wonderful biographies and
novels providing insight into the characters of people from the past,
few books provide so deep an insight as collections of original diaries and
letters, particularly when those letters are exchanged between close family
members. For this reason, the letters between Queen Victoria and her daughters
are fascinating and give such a lovely glimpse into her world. Lesser known,
however, and so even more fascinating are the letters between Alix – the last
Tsarina of Russia – and her brother, ‘Ernie’. Until recently these letters were not widely available but, thanks to Petra H. Kleinpenning's wonderful book - The Correspondence of the Empress Alexandra of Russia with Ernst Ludwig and Eleonore, Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse. 1878-1916 - we can now discover a great deal more about the life and character of the Empress Alexandra. I am delighted that Ms. Kleinpenning very kindly agreed to
be interviewed about her work as I know I am not alone in finding her responses –
and, of course, the book itself – truly interesting and
enlightening.
Many people have preconceived and erroneous ideas
about the character of Tsarina Alexandra, do you think that these letters
present her in a different and truer light?
Obviously, a correspondence between two siblings cannot
give a complete picture of the lives and characters of the letter writers. The
picture that emerges from this correspondence is that of a woman who was indeed
shy and religious. However, the letters contain no sign of her alleged religious
mania and provide no evidence that Alix strived for influence or was hungry for
political power from her first day in Russia. The idea that she was completely
under the influence of Grigori Efimovich Rasputin in later years is not
confirmed either.
In spite of the perceived opulence of the Russian
palaces, the Imperial Family lived very simple lives in simply furnished rooms.
Do you think this was a reflection of Alix’s character and her love for her
native Darmstadt, and do you think this simplicity comes across in the letters?
In 1895, Alix enthusiastically described the Lower Dacha
at Peterhof, one of its assets being that it had attractive nooks and ridges to
put photos and trinkets on. And one reason why she liked the Alexander Palace in
Tsarskoe Selo was that it was a place where her husband could work in peace and
could get fresh air and sufficient exercise to keep fit. The interiors of the
private wing of the Alexander Palace included many objects that reminded her of,
or came from, Darmstadt. Alix wrote that their bedroom had the same chintz as
Ernst Ludwig's bedroom at the New Palace in Darmstadt. In the Palisander Room
hung a wedding gift from Darmstadt: a beautiful painting of Romrod Castle by
Eugen Bracht. Old photographs of the Palisander Room also show folding screens
on which one sees woodcuts of familiar buildings in Hesse. Moreover, the Maple
Room was decorated in Jugendstil, of
which her brother Ernst Ludwig was a devoted patron in Darmstadt. Opulence
seemed immaterial.
Out of all her siblings, would you say that Alix was
closest to her brother? Do you feel that this is apparent in the
letters?
I think that the age difference between Victoria and Ella
on the one hand and Alix on the other was too large for them to develop a truly
close relationship. Irene was 'only' six years older, and Alix’s relationship
with her seems to have been closer. This was reflected in their correspondence
that has been partly preserved in the state archive in Moscow: the cards that
Irene sent to Alix were written in a very warm tone. Of all siblings, Ernst
Ludwig was the one closest in age to Alix. Generally, he was the typical older
brother who assisted her in word and deed, in practical issues as well as in
awkward situations. He also livened things up, for instance by taking Alix and
some friends to Kranichstein Hunting Lodge for an afternoon of skating on the
pond. During her first year in Russia, Alix was quite homesick; Ernst Ludwig
would receive one letter a week on average, no matter whether he wrote back or
not. Through the years, she sympathized with his marital grief and later his
marital bliss. She also showed an interest in his pursuits, from his student
days and time in military service to his years of patronage of the arts in
Darmstadt. Ernst Ludwig does indeed seem to have been the sibling she was
closest to.
How did you decide which letters to include in this
collection? And do you have a favourite letter?
The correspondence of Alix with Ernst Ludwig and his
second wife Eleonore has been included in its entirety, apart from one
unreadable card. Any selection would just have reflected my personal opinion
about the importance of various letters, and I didn’t want to impose my views.
Personally, I find the passages in which Alix wrote about her first pregnancy,
about the new life developing inside her, very beautiful. A letter that I find
very gripping is the one from World War I in which she expressed her grief for
her Siberian regiment that had become victim of a horrible gas attack and had
been virtually annihilated.
The pictures are also beautiful. Again, how did you
decide which to include, and do you have a favourite.
Not surprisingly, the pictures are meant to give an
impression of the letters themselves and of the main people and locations
mentioned in them. The book contains only a few letters from or to Victoria
Melita, Ernst Ludwig’s first wife. To ‘increase her presence’, I have included a
photo of little Princess Elisabeth of Hesse with her mother, instead of her
father. I also thought it important to put faces to the names of some non-family
members who played a role in Alix’s life in Darmstadt, such as her friend Toni
Becker, Oberstallmeister Moritz
Riedesel zu Eisenbach and Oberhofmeisterin Wilhelmine von
Senarclens-Grancy. The colours of the original antique Hanfstaengl reproductions
are more attractive, but my favourite pictures are nevertheless the portraits of
Tsar Nicholas II, in civilian clothes, his wife and eldest daughters created by
F. A. Kaulbach in 1903.
Thank you very much Ms. Kleinpenning!
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