Olga Romanov lived a life full of romance and danger. Born into the doomed Romanov family in the late 19th century, she barely escaped the Bolshevik Revolution with her life. Never before seen letters and diary entries from Russian archives and family members cast new light on her daring escape across the Crimea, and reveal details of her miserable first marriage and subsequent love affair with the handsome officer who would become her second husband. A true tale of riches to rags, Olga lived on the proceeds of a spectacular cache of Faberge jewels smuggled out of Russia, eventually dying in relative poverty above a hair salon in a run down neighborhood of Toronto. With photographs from surviving descendents and quotes from Olga's own letters, this book brings one of the most illustrious and well-loved figures of Russia's grand imperial court to life.

Olga Romanov

Biographies & Memoirs

Phenix, Patricia

Leaders & Notable People

Viking Adult

Olga Romanov: Russia's Last Grand Duchess

VIKING

Over its 130-year history, Eaton’s became part of the social fabric of Canada and played a major role in the lives of many Canadians. If its customers were saddened by its demise, some of its employees – in many cases men and women who had spent their entire working lives at the store – were devastated. In this book, Patricia Phenix sets out to tell the story of the Loyal Eatonians – “the family behind the Family” – who helped make the store what it was, and often continue to gather today across the country. In this lively look at a Canadian institution and its proud employees, Phenix describes the lives of staff members through the years, from Timothy Eaton’s day on. She writes about the yearly Santa Claus parades, the importance of the Eaton’s catalogue in Canada, and the role Eaton’s staff members played in the First and Second world wars. She describes the glamour of the Eaton’s restaurants, the cultural influence of the Eaton Auditorium, and the fun of Eaton’s-sponsored fashion shows and celebrity appearances. She talks about the Eaton’s buyers, travelling the world in search of new merchandise, and she deals with the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to unionize the store. Finally she looks at the slow decline of the Eaton’s stores in the face of growing suburban malls and increased customer mobility. By turns fascinating, hilarious, and poignant, full of the voices and personalities of Eaton’s employees, and illustrated throughout with pictures of Eatonians at work and play, this book is sure to bring back memories for former employees or for anyone who grew up with Timothy Eaton’s store.

Eatonians: The Story of the Family Behind the Family

Business & Money

Biography & History

MCCLELLAND STEWART

The first book to expose the turbulent personal life of this fascinating Father of Confederation. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald once remarked, “I had no boyhood,” an understatement if there ever was one. Indeed, John A.’s Dickensian childhood, filled with poverty, alcoholism, and the beating death of his five-year-old brother at the hands of a drunken babysitter (a friend of his father, Hugh’s), set the stage for a political power grab that has seen no equal in Canadian history. In Private Demons, bestselling author Patricia Phenix explores through Macdonald’s family journals, diaries, and never-before-seen letters the troubled man behind Canada’s most successful politician. Phenix describes a man of myriad contradictions: patient, yet prone to settle fights with his fists; ethical, yet capable of pilfering corporate profits to pay private debts; shy, yet wildly flirtatious; sociable, yet so desirous of solitude he built escape hatches into the walls of his homes. She also examines reports that Macdonald’s depression became so deep that he once attempted suicide. Ultimately, in an obsessive need to escape his childhood demons, he sacrificed friends, family members, and financial security to achieve his single greatest ambition — to design and control the destiny of Canada. Private Demons paints a vivid portrait of nineteenth-century society while exploring the amazingly tumultuous domestic life of our most famous prime minister.

Private Demons: The Tragic Personal Life of John A. Macdonald

Historical

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Books by Phenix, Patricia