Almedingen, E.M. (1898–1971)

Russian author. Name variations: Edith Martha Almedingen. Born Martha Edith von Almedingen in 1898 in St. Petersburg, Russia; died in 1971 in England; educated in St. Petersburg private schools, Xenia Nobility College, and University of Petrograd. More than ten books to her credit, including Out of Seir (1943), Storm at Westminster (1952), The Empress Alexandra, 1872–1918 (1961), and Anna (1972).

Martha Edith von Almedingen's extensive education in her homeland of St. Petersburg included a private early education, and work at two institutes of higher learning, the Xenia Nobility College and the University of Petrograd. Specializing in medieval history and philosophy, Almedingen lectured at Petrograd in English medieval history and literature from 1920 until her departure from Russia two years later. By 1923, she had moved to England where her writing career began.

Almedingen, who could read in seven languages, authored poetry, plays, novels, and biographies for both children and adults, using St. Petersburg and the Russian landscape as her setting. Drawing upon her history background, she wrote biographies of Russian nobility, including the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872–1919) and the Emperor Alexander I (publications in 1961 and 1966 respectively). In 1951, she reentered teaching at Oxford University as a lecturer on Russian history and literature. In her final years, she wrote Anna, the story of her great-grandmother's childhood in a wealthy Russian family, and the book was published posthumously. Though identified as a Russian, Almedingen lived in England for nearly two-thirds of her life.

sources:

Almedingen, E.M. The Emperor Alexander I. NY: Vanguard Press, 1966.

Crista Martin , Boston, Massachusetts