The Romanov Family In Robert Alexander's The Kitchen Boy

Robert Alexander’s The Kitchen Boy is a work of historical fiction that captures the execution of the infamous Romanov family during the Russian Revolution through their kitchen boy, Leonka. In the beginning, the reader finds out the narrator claims to be the Romanov’s kitchen boy, who is now very old, and is recording the story of his personal encounters with the Romanov family for his granddaughter, Katya. We also learn that he is now living in Oak Forest, Illinois and his real name is Mikhail Semyonov, also known as Misha. Misha, the main character, shows the reader the daily activities and interactions of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra, along with their entire family --- four girls and a young boy. At the end of the novel, the reader finds

His actions are not actions of an ordinary guard. He shares specific information, secrets, and memories of the Romanovs that really makes it seem like he has an intimate relationship with each member of the family. Leonka also builds a relationship with a nun named Sister Antonina and her Novice Marina in order to help free the Romanovs. One night Sister Antonina brings a sweet delicacy, strawberry jam, to breakfast. The Romanovs are all gathered at the table, and Leonka is serving. When he finishes, he sits down at the table with the family which displays that the family truly does care about him. When they are passing the strawberry jam around the table, the royal mother says to one of the children, “’Tatyana, make sure that Leonka gets some of the jam as well’” (Alexander 52). As the narrator describes this scene, the reader assumes that the family considers Leonka as one of their own children. Leonka goes on as the narrator to say, “It was only for us children, that sweet heavenly mixture of fruit, and I was not to be excluded, nor was I ever, even though I was born of such lower state. They treated me with fairness and kindness at every turn that morning and every other” (52). The reader does not expect Leonka to be lying about his identity because of the hospitality the Romanovs supposedly

He had been lying about his identity all along. The reader builds trust with the character when more details are revealed over time. He introduces himself in chapter one stating, “My name is Mikhail Semynov. I live in Lake Forest village, Illinois state, the United States of America. I am ninety-four years old. I was born in Russia before the revolution. I was born in Tula province and my name then was not Mikhail, or even Misha, as I am known here in America. No, my real name–the one given to me at birth–was Leonid Sednyov, and I was known as Leonka” (12). His identity is stated clearly and he goes on to state his position in the Ipatiev House, “What I wish to confess is that I was the kitchen boy in the Ipatiev house where the Tsar and Tsaritsa, Nikolai and Aleksandra, were imprisoned” (12). It is made unmistakably evident that he worked as a kitchen boy in the Ipatiev House. There is no confusion there or in the beginning of the book. Towards the middle of chapter four, the narrator even describes the daily tasks in detail that Leonka did throughout the day stating, “Any time anyone needed to take care of a lowly tast, they called me. ‘Leonka, help us wheel Aleksei Nikolaevich into the other room, please.’ ‘Leonka, be so kind as to bring some water.’ ‘Leonka, fetch some wood.’ ‘Get this… get that…’ ‘Start the samovar’” (77). Soldiers do not normally handle the