Recommended reading/Valid sources/Advice for beginners on Romanov books

IMHO, you should start with what I consider the bible of Romanov history and that is Massies Nicholas and Alexandra. Considering it was written almost 40 years ago, it still stands the test of time.

I would also add to the collection, Greg Kings bio of Alexandra--the best there is on the Empress; then Greg and Penny Wilson's--The Fate of the Romanov's, Peter Kurth's--The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra; Charlotte Zapveet's--Romanov Autumn, ...Ok, actually read anything you can get your hands on. I know people from the board will add more to your required reading list.

Enjoy and have fun buying them. I

Louise

I liked Moynahans "Rasputin -The Saint who Sinned" and I  REALLY didn't like  Massie's "Nicholas & Alexandra" (curiously enough... I enjoyed his later books on the Romanovs)


  Go figure!

For the earlier Romanovs, I would add Robert Massie's amazing "Peter the Great" and also Isabel de Madariaga's books on Catherine the Great.  There's also a good bio of Alexander I by Troyat, although it is out of print and a bit hard to find.

Hope this helps!

Troyat is a prolific writer who also wrote a book about Peter the Great (1988) and Catherine the Great (1979)

There is another other author who also wrote about Peter 1:

1. Alexei Tolstoy (1956) translated from the Russian language,

The following authors wrote about Nicholas II:
(corrected para.)

2. Dominic Lieven (1993),
3. and the fairly recent translation from the French by Helene Carrere d'Encausse (2000).

Zoe Oldenbourg also wrote about Catherine the Great (my edition is 1965), and is also translation from the French language.

All these books are available regularily on e-bay.

I hope you will enjoy some of these suggestions!  

Sorry I forgot to add the works of W.Bruce Lincoln

He wrote a magnificent book titled Romanovs Autocrats of All the Russias (1981) and also

Nicholas I Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (1989) which is also very well written IMHO.

[There are three other authors who also wrote about Peter 1:

3. and the fairly recent translation from the French by Helene Carrere d'Encausse (2000).

Hi Belochka !

I think there is a slight confusion with her books on Catherine II or Nicholas II. To my knowledge Mrs. Carrère d'Encausse did not write any biography on Peter I. But maybe I am wrong ?

Hi Thierry ...

Thanks for the correction. In my haste I wrote Peter  of course it should be Nicholas II.

Thanks for pointing out my error!

For my own benefit I corrected my listing which I made above.

Thank you very much everyone.Your suggestions are very helpful and very much appreciated.Me thinks I'm ready to do one of my favorite things...book shopping!

To the previous suggestions, I'd add "Scenarios of Power" Volume 2, Alexander II to Nicholas II, by Richard Wortman, which really gives the best portrait of Nicholas and how he was raised to perceive himself, and how he carried out his role.  It's sometimes a controversial take, but very insightful and impressive conclusions about the last years of the Dynasty.

Greg King

Thank you for the suggestion Greg.I will have to add that one to my list as well.

I'd add Robert Warth's "Nicholas II" to the list - the best biography in my opinion; well-researched and insightful - sets Nicholas pretty thoroughly into the context of his reign. It's also an interesting counterpoint to Lieven's work of the same title, which many recommend (I would too)

Janet

For Russian history, one book that I picked up at a second hand store is 'The Russian Century in Pictures' by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. It's a real treasure, and although it only features a few pictures of the Imperial family, it is great for someone wanting to start learning about Russia in the 1900's. Highly recommended.

LAND OF THE FIREBIRD and PAVLOVSK, both by Suzanne Massie.

I would add "The last Tsar", by Larissa Yermilova. It has hundreds of beautiful pictures and a good deal of information about them.

I would like to know more about this book, as I had never heard of it before. It was fairly recently published (2002) and I've read that it is a major pictorial work, with the majority of the photographs having never been published before. I own a few wonderful picture books such as "Love, Power, & Tragedy," Kurth's "Tsar," and Prince Michael's "Family Albums." Will this book contain anything much different than what can be found in those books?

The Romanovs- Autocrats of all the Russias by W. Bruce Lincoln.


A bit large, but it covers the entire Romanov family from Mihkail to Nicholas II. Very,very good.