Alexander III, Tsar of Russia, reigned from 1881 to 1894. Having succeeded to the throne on the assassination of his father, Alexander II, he rejected the latter's plans for constitutional reform. A firm autocrat, he made no concessions to liberalism and his reign was noted for political repression and persecution of the Jews, as well as a loosening of the alliance with Germany and a new understanding with France. Lowe's biography was first published in 1895, and though it appeared within a year of the subject's death, it remains an invaluable record of his life and times. This new illustrated edition contains an introduction by John Van der Kiste. Charles Lowe (1848-1931) was a foreign correspondent with The Times. His life of Tsar Alexander III remains his best-known and most important work.