'.....a superb evocation in text and contemporary (b & w) photographs of the Russian Empire in the reign of Nicholas II before it was overwhelmed in the floods (!) of 1917 : the IF at home; the two capitals, grandiose St Petersburg and holy Moscow; great estates. provincial towns, peasant villages; Caucasian mountains, Siberian wastes, cotton mills, gold fields; the varied peoples of a gigantic and newly formed Empire; work, prosperity, famine, unrest; the Imperial ballet, Stanislavsky, Faberge; ordinary people leading ordinary lives....'
That's what the blurb on the dust wrapper says, and the book has all that and more. Certainly not a 'must have' (imo), but interesting. Mainly notable for its photos of 'ordinary' people rather than IF (only about three or four pages on them). Both authors have Russian backgrounds and have worked in publishing and translating. It's hard-back, 1977, published by Allen Lane. If you're bidding, I wouldn't go above £7 or £8. It often appears in book fairs and even Oxfam, which is where I got mine for £5. I'll keep my eye open for a copy (sale in Market Harborough tomorrow!).
