In the July/August 2014 Horn Book Magazine, reviewer Jonathan Hunt asked author Candace Fleming about her intimate portrait of the last Imperial family of Russia, The Family Romanov. Read the starred review here.

Jonathan Hunt: What was the most interesting thing you had to leave out of the book?

Candace Fleming: So many poignant moments couldn’t be included. I especially miss this one: the morning after the murders, a sixteen-year-old guard found Alexei’s spaniel, Joy, whining at the family’s door. The teenager took Joy home. But White Army officials soon discovered the dog, which was brought to a former Romanov servant. She recalled: “Joy clung to me with his front paws…lay near the door…refused to eat. He had been with the Imperial Family to the last…and his heart was broken.” Eventually, Joy was sent to England. He lived out his days in a cozy stable near Windsor Castle.

From the July/August 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.