The Romanovs

1613-1918

De: Simon Sebag Montefiore

Narrado por: Simon Beale

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all?

This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence, and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries, and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin to Bismarck, Lincoln, Queen Victoria, and Lenin.

To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: Six of the last 12 tsars were murdered. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs, and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband (who was murdered soon afterward), enjoyed affairs with a series of young male favorites, conquered Ukraine, and fascinated Europe. Paul I was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who in turn faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts, and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever composed by a ruler. The Romanovs climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war, and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family.

Dazzlingly entertaining and beautifully written from start to finish, The Romanovs brings these monarchs - male and female, great and flawed, their families and courts - blazingly to life. Drawing on new archival research, Montefiore delivers an enthralling epic of triumph and tragedy, love and murder, encompassing the seminal years 1812, 1914, and 1917, that is both a universal study of power and a portrait of an empire that helps define Russia today.

©2016 Simon Sebag Montefiore (P)2016 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"In another great work of history, Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem, tells the bloody and decadent stories of the 20 tsars and tsarinas of Russia's last imperial dynasty. The Romanovs is like 20 gripping novels in one." [ Sunday Express (London)]

"Simon Sebag Montefiore's The Romanovs is epic history on the grandest scale...A story of conspiracy, drunken coups, assassination, torture, impaling, breaking on the wheel, lethal floggings with the knout, sexual and alcoholic excess, charlatans and pretenders, flamboyant wealth based on a grinding serfdom, and, not surprisingly, a vicious cycle of repression and revolt. Game of Thrones seems like the proverbial vicar's tea party in comparison.... Reading Montefiore's excellent account, it is hard to imagine how the monarchy could ever have survived under their catastrophic leadership." (Antony Beevor, Financial Times)

"An impressive book that combines rigorous research with exquisite prose." [Gerard de Groot, The Times (London)]

Fantastic!

Got a bit tedious in spots....but sticking with it was worth it an informative entertaining history about the Romanovs.

Excellent for Russophiles

I have a strange connection to Imperial Russian history. I feel very drawn to it and attached to it. Enter Ancestry.....there’s a reason; I have Russian/Ukrainian in my DNA. I find myself listening to this over & over. Love the Robert Massie books as well.

Dense and fascinating

Dense and fascinating. At times tedious but fascinating in its grand picture. The procession of Romanov family figures get a bit overwhelming at times but is undoubtedly a worthy read.

long but what a story!

Sweeping, comprehensive, amazing and intriguing story! However the narrator spoke too fast for me to understand. Slowing down read speed to about 0.85 was perfect!

I loved it!

I learned so much. Some
people complained about the fast pace but just consider it an introduction to 600 years of a family not a deep dive in to each generation. The book definitely makes me want to know more.

Helps fill in European History.

Didn't have any knowledge of how the Romanov family came to power and filled this in nicely. Great at explaining the role of Rasputin and undoing as much as possible. Especially important book for political scientists.

Spellbinding history by master historian

If you want to know about the story of Russia, get your ears on the Romanovs.
The book, by the great Simon Sebag Montefiore, has the special distinction of being read by one of the great actors of the British stage, Sir Simon Russell Beale.
When approaching this, its very important you keep in mind you are reading the story of the Romanovs, and not the story of Russia. Yes, they are pretty much the same, but the book emphasizes the history of the rulers of Russia from Peter the Great to the ill fated Nicky and Alex, in a much bigger way than the social or political issues of its respective eras.
But you get good enough context, and considering that Russia has always been pretty much about the autocracy, you are in for a spellbinding introduction to Russian History.
It's all here, the larger than life Peter the Great, the sexually voracious and power hungry Catherine the Great, Czar Alexander's epic fight against Napoleon and the tragic fall of the Romanov dynasty at the hands of the Communists.
Sebag Montefiore has written acclaimed book on specific aspects of Russian history before including Catherine the Great and her relationship with Potemkin, and the life of Stalin, so you are at the hands of a master historian and storyteller.
The book is insightful enough to show how Russia and its rulers have always swung between greatness and catastrophe and the fateful consequences that vertigo has for the rulers and the ruled.
One of the best books of 2016

A well researched book....a must read

Never learned much about Romanov history in school out side of the fall of tsarism and even that was limited to just a short chapter while studying WWI. This book was interesting and well written look at a family which shaped Russian history.

Enlightening.

The Romanovs is interesting, entertaining and enlightening. This is a detailed, chatty, R-rated 300 year story of one of history’s most influential families. Using primary sources (letters, diaries), Montefiore reveals not only historical events, but also lots of dirty laundry. The historic impact of 300 years of autocracy makes it easier to understand Vladimir Putin, whose goals are not that different from those of Peter the Great. A long important, entertaining book make last week’s single digit days go by surprisingly fast.

Great on all levels

Would you consider the audio edition of The Romanovs to be better than the print version?

While I have read biographies of Peter the Great as well as histories of Russia as a country and the historical novel Russka, this book put the family's experience in perspective in a way the other ones didn't.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Romanovs?

The psychological and mental weakness of Alexandra.

What does Simon Beale bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I feel the story as if I were a participant rather than a spectator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The frustration and cluelessness of Nicholas.