Like The Crown’s Game, The Crown’s Fate is a work of historical fantasy set in an alternate Imperial Russia, although much of its foundation is based on true events and places. After Tsar Alexander I’s death, there was, indeed, confusion as to which of two brothers ought to ascend the throne, and the Decembrist revolt was a real attempted coup that arose out of the Russian people’s unrest and unhappiness. The revolt was led by prominent and respected men, including Trubetskoy, Obolensky, Volkonsky, and Pestel, who were subsequently hanged or sentenced to exile for their treason.
The Crown’s Fate diverges from actual history, of course, in the story of which brothers could claim the throne, and the complications of their lineage. In reality, Alexander I did not have any sons to fight over the tsardom, but here we have Pasha and Nikolai fighting over the crown. I also took liberties with the tsarina’s correspondence with her friends about her lovers and, in particular, Alexis Okhotnikov; those letters do not actually exist, but they do here, for the sake of this story.
On an unrelated note: I had a bit of fun with historical Easter eggs in both The Crown’s Game and The Crown’s Fate. Did any of my readers notice? For example, there’s a reference hidden in this book to War and Peace. Also, some of Nikolai’s enchantments pay homage to Russian artists—the Jack and ballerina (the Nutcracker ballet), the statue of Peter the Great (Pushkin’s “Bronze Horseman”), and the jeweled egg (Fabergé). However, since these books take place in 1825, Nikolai actually predates the famed artists. So if Nikolai existed before they did, he couldn’t have copied them. Rather, I like to think those artists copied Nikolai.
Because why not?
As Nikolai himself says: Imagine, and it shall be. There are no limits.