About the Book
For 300 years the history of Russia was inextricably linked to one family: The Romanovs. Claiming a divine right to reign and tracing the family lineage back to Peter the Great, they were Russia's second and last imperial dynasty and, for better or worse, as Lindsey Hughes demonstrates, shaped the country's history for three centuries until their downfall and murder in 1918. 17th century Russia was riddled with chaos, internal disorder, rioting, and a constant threat of foreign invasion. During the rule of Peter the great, Russia was transformed into an empire by his introduction of trade with Europe and aggressive military campaigns. Through the impact of Peter the Great, followed by the continuing influences of Michael, Ivan, Catherine II, Nicholas I and Alexander III, the Romanovs undoubtedly shaped the politics, society, art and philosophy of their times and lead to the establishment of Russia as one of the great world powers. But when the Romanovs gathered to celebrate their tercentenary in 1913, dark clouds were gathering. The infamous mystic Rasputin had prophesized their demise and his unpopular influence on the Tsar was growing. The strain of the First World War had spread unrest throughout Russia. On July 17th, 1918 three hundred and four years of the Romanov dynasty ended when, probably under Lenin's orders, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were brutally murdered by a Bolshevik execution squad bringing the Romanov dynasty to a final and bitter end. This brilliant and original new work, comprised of vivid and powerful portraits of the entire Romanov family, illustrates exactly what and how the family contributed to the creation of Russia. By bringing the characters of the Tsars and their family to life, Lindsey Hughes offers an insightful addition to our knowledge of an epic and fascinating history.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Abbreviations, dates, spellings and transliteration
List of Illustrations
Family Trees
Introduction
1. Romanov Roots, 1613-45: Michael
2. The Pious Tsars, 1645-96: Alexis, Fedor and Ivan V
3. Transformation, 1682-1725: Peter the Great
4. The Age of Empresses and Palace Revolutions, 1725-62: Catherine I, Peter II, Anna, Ivan VI, Elizabeth, Peter III
5. Philosopher on the Throne, 1762-96: Catherine II
6. The Napoleonic Era, 1796-1825: Paul and Alexander I
7. Consistent Autocracy, 1825-55: Nicholas I
8. Reform and Reaction, 1855-94: Alexander II and Alexander III
9. The Last Romanov: Nicholas II (i) 1894-1913
10. From Celebration to Annihilation: Nicholas II (ii) 1913-1918
11. Postscript, 1918-2007
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Lindsey Hughes was an internationally renowned authority on 17th and 18th century Russian history, in particular on the age of Peter the Great.
As well as teaching at London University's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, where she was a professor and head of the history department, she wrote prolifically and was a valued member of an influential cohort of scholars brought together in the Eighteenth-Century Russia Study Group founded in 1968 by Anthony Cross. Her publications include Russia in the Age of Peter the Great (1998), Peter the Great: A Biography (2004) and Sophia: Regent of Russia, 1657-1704 (1990).
Review :
"a history achieved with consummate skill...an illuminating and admirably balanced narrative account" Reviewed in Literary Review, 2008
'More than a testimony to Hughes' remarkable spirit, this is the best book in English on the subject, illuminated by a deep knowledge of Russia's imperial past, wide in scope yet admirable in its concision, and infused with a subtlety of interpretation free of the overheated, romantic treatment that has clouded most previous accounts.' Douglas Smith, The Times Literary Supplement, July 2008.
Ony [Hughes] ... could have written such a wide-ranging, scholarly and captivating distillation of the entire history of the Romanov family. The book is enlivened at all points by discussions of painting, architecture, and statuary; Hughes's command of detail is stunning.
Recommended book in Publishing News, 8 February 2008
"Vivid portrait of the entire Romanov family, who shaped Russian history and politics so pwerfully" Bookseller Buyers Guide,1 January 2008
"The author is interested in the camera as a narrator that guides spectators to judgment and engages their sensory apparatus and capacity for affect in reshaping what might otherwise by abstract and rational judgment....Stadler interprets several films, doing especially well with David Lynch's enigmatic Lost Highway, which unsettles notions of narrative genre, identity, and morality. SUMMING UP: Recommended." - Choice
