Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy,

Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia

â€œMichael Farquhar doesnâ€™t write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris Kearns Goodwinâ€™s smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it.â€â€”Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist
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Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the worldâ€™s most engaging royal historian chronicles the worldâ€™s most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose three-hundred-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity. We meet Catherine the Great, with her endless parade of virile young lovers (none of them of the equine variety); her unhinged son, Paul I, who ordered the bones of one of his motherâ€™s paramours dug out of its grave and tossed into a gorge; and Grigori Rasputin, the â€œMad Monk,â€ whose mesmeric domination of the last of the Romanov tsars helped lead to the monarchyâ€™s undoing. From Peter the Greatâ€™s penchant for personally beheading his recalcitrant subjects (he kept the severed head of one of his mistresses pickled in alcohol) to Nicholas and Alexandraâ€™s brutal demise at the hands of the Bolsheviks, Secret Lives of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia.

Praise for Secret Lives of the Tsars
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â€œAn accessible, exciting narrative . . . Highly recommended for generalists interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives.â€â€”Library Journal (starred review)

â€œAn excellent condensed version of Russian history . . . a fine tale of history and scandal . . . sure to please general readers and monarchy buffs alike.â€â€”Publishers Weekly
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â€œTales from the nasty lives of global royalty . . . an easy-reading, lightweight history lesson.â€â€”Kirkus Reviews

â€œReaders of this book may get a sense of why Russians are so tolerant of tyrants like Stalin and Putin. Given their history, it probably seems normal.â€â€”The Washington Post
Country USA
Brand Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer Random House Trade Paperbacks
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 0812979052_used
Color White
ReleaseDate 2014-07-08
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780812979053

Country	USA
Brand	Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer	Random House Trade Paperbacks
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	0812979052_used
Color	White
ReleaseDate	2014-07-08
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780812979053

Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia