"Fanny Lear: Love and Scandal in Tsarist Russia>/i> tells
the story of Harriet Clarissima Ely Blackford, also known as Fanny
Lear. She was an American courtesan in the late nineteenth century,
a strong, independent woman who refused to accept the restrictions
placed on women by society at the time. In her short,
adventure-filled life, her travels took her from Philadelphia to
the social heights of Europe and ultimately to Tsarist Russia,
where an affair with the Tsar's nephew culminated in her arrest and
expulsion from Russia. Various diplomatic reports from the US State
Department detail the scandalous events and the dire implications
of this ill-fated love affair.
Once out of Russia, she reportedly wrote this account in English
over the course of eleven days and then supervised its translation
into French. Published under the title Le Roman d'une Americaine en
Russie, it was an instant bestseller. It also brought on diplomatic
pressure from Russia that caused her expulsion from France and
Italy, although she continued to be a prominent figure in the
social and celebrity sections of the European media during the
1870s and '80s.
Her account of the twenty-eight months in Russia is a love
story, not only of her love for the Grand Duke, but also for Russia
itself. A few copies of her book survived; it has now been
translated and is presented here.
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