{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmy-life-in-books.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fellen-alpsten-WUUw_I1Q","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Ellen Alpsten","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/c1f7074b-1a77-4fd0-b874-36e07b5a5765/6a7868c0-8f30-4c0f-90e4-bc7cba7e3d0d/my-life-in-books-1400x1400-podcast-cover.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/dd99ef28-e8c9-44d0-b421-6b8020aaf1da\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Ellen Alpsten\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"This month, Red’s  guest is Ellen Alpsten, whose meticulously researched historical novels, \"Tsarina\" and \"The Tsarina’s Daughter,\" retell the extraordinary stories of the two women who ushered in a century of female rule in Russia.\n\nJoin Ellen and Red as they discuss hair-raising historical events and machinations at the Romanov court in 18th-century St, Petersburg that make Game of Thrones seem like a fairy tale."}