Books by Felix Yusupov - "Lost Splendour" etc

[Rhon]

I just read this book and would like to hear some opinions on it from others who are more informed and knowledgeable about the subject. Is there a general consensus on the credibility of the book?

Thanks,
Rhon

[Valmont]

My opinion is that Felix allways tented to exagerate about the wonderfull and glamorous lifestyle he had when he lived in St. Petersburg. To me, he is not a reliable sorce of information.

Arturo Vega-Llausás

[ashanti01]

I have to agree. It seemed to me Felix wanted to make himself look like the hero in the story and wanted you to read what he wanted you to believe.
At the same time his accounts about his family and thier lifestyle do somewhat fit the image you read about.

[Belochka]

This book reads smoothly, and is not complex.  However there was a tendency to gloss over many important details.

He never did mention which course he enrolled in at Oxford U., where he seemed to be involved in numerous extracuricular activities, in fact anything except to study. How he graduated defies comprehension.

Yet he did love animals ... and himself. He never failed to glamorize himself or the life which he lead.

[Richard_Cullen]

I think it is important to set Lost Splendor against Y's previous memoris as there are a number of twist and turns that I am highlighting in my paper on R's murder.

You also should also look at Purishkevich's book about the murder and Lazovert's very short piece about it.  I am afraid my view, based on fact, is that Yusupov is an abject liar, certainly in so far as the murder is concerned and therefore probably about some of the other detail in Lost Splendor.

The French ambassador describes him as being liable to embelish things and you get the over whelming impression he is setting out a fantastic story that wouldn't be lost as part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It is enjoyable, but certainly as far as the murder is concerned it is miles from the truth.

Richard

[Annie]

While some things may have been exaggerated or changed a bit, overall I love the book and find it a beautiful portrait of pre- Revolutionary Russia. I also like Felix as a person from the way he tells his stories.

[Janet_W.]

I've known more than a few people along the lines of Felix. They like to think that they are exciting, special people, and they love being drama queens.

Actually, there's very little in Felix's autobiography that I doubt, because I think he enjoyed creating drama wherever he went. Sure, he was no stranger to hyperbole--but after awhile, your own legend can take over your life, and I think that may have been the case with Felix. Remember that just before Rasputin's murder, Irina wrote Felix from the Crimea that she hoped he wasn't about to do anything stupid? She knew her husband was excitable and that unpredictability was the only predictable aspect of his character.

[Richard_Cullen]

Unfortunately I can show he has consistently lied, and the evidence is there for all to see if you wish to compare and contrast events with purishkevich's accounts.  I have to question whether Irina was ever to be involved?  Purishkevich in his diary entry (if you believe it is a diary) of 22 November makes it clear that Y says at their meeting on that date that she will not be there.

This conflicts with her letters - or supposed letters that show she did not pull out until a much later date.

I think Radzinzsky makes the point that Felix plans to make out a story that will engross everyone.  I think he does that but the truth contained in his tale is minimal.

Richard

[Tasha_R]

Having executed such a deed as the murder of any man, as horrible as one imagines him to be, I suspect that Felix told the tale he wanted folks to know, and that there were many secrets behind it which he chose not to tell.  One could also hypothesize that he told the tale he wished himself were truth, so as to subdue the inner guilt he must have felt.

I agree, he seems to have left out quite a bit, glossing over things here and there.  I don't doubt that he understood that the consequences of his actions may have directly affected the lives of the Tsar and his family - the very ones he wished to protect - if only after the fact.

Sincere regards,

[Valmont]

That is, if he REALLY wanted to protect them, but comming from Felix, I really doubt he was much concerned with anything else that did not involved him. My guess would be that he did it for the Thrill of it and he indeed  told HIS story the way he wanted the world to know it, and basicly that was the reason why GD Dimitri and Felix were not that close in  exile. I think they had agreed not to talk about the murder and GD Dimitry kept his word, but for Felix, it was another change to be under the spotlight....and  shine !!!!

Arturo Vega-Llausás

[Marie-Antoinette]

I recieved this book for my......birthday or christmas sometime (a week between both)
would you recommend I read it?
Not to trust what he says because I dont think I would trust it anyway, maybe just to dive into his enviable trillionaire lifestyle?

I read a quote from Alexandra - The life and times of the last empress of russia I think and it had a quote from the book and it said something like "I [Prince Felix] was looking for the dinner service that Louis XVI gave to Empress Catherine [the great] (I THINK), I found it at the back of one of our many storage houses."

God i love decadence.

[Gretchen]

When was the book written? In the 1920s?

[Morecambrian]

When was the book written? In the 1920s?

The book was written in the early 1950's and published in 1952 in France as "Avant L'Exil" before being translated by Nicholas Katkov and Anne Green as "Lost Splendor".In 1954 Libarie Plon published the sequel "L'Exil" sadly this has never been translated.

[Gretchen]

Did he write several books? His memoires were published in German asRasputins Ende. Erinnerungen in the 1920s. Is this the same book as Lost Splendor? Thanks!

[hg123]

No, it are not the same books. Lost Splendor is Felix' autobiography, (but the Rasputin murder of course plays a big part in this as well). "Lost Splendor" consists of two parts, the first about Felix' life in Russia and the second one about his time in exile. The main site here has the first part online. It's a highly entertaining book, IMO, but problematic if you want to know want really happened, since Felix lied or concealed things very often. However, it does give a good feeling about life among the Russian noblemans at this time in general.