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As Vidas Secretas dos Czares
Três Séculos de Terror, Devassidão, Assassínio e Loucura da Rússia Romanov.
Em 1613, Miguel Romanov é eleito czar numa Rússia em convulsão após o reinado de Ivan, o Terrível. Com apenas 16 anos vai dar início a uma das mais fascinantes dinastias imperiais da história: os Romanov. Foram 300 anos de poder e terror absolutos, marcados pela violência, devassidão e loucura dos seus governantes – e aqui narrados por Michael Farquhar com uma vivacidade e um rigor únicos.
De Pedro, o Grande, que teve o condão de abrir a Rússia ao Ocidente, mas que decapitava os súbditos rebeldes com as próprias mãos, a Pedro III, que levou oito anos a consumar o casamento – e que foi apanhado de surpresa quando a mulher lhe usurpou o trono; de Catarina, a Grande, que tanto se rodeava de artistas e filósofos ocidentais, como de amantes (cada vez mais jovens à medida que envelhecia); ao brutal destino final de Nicolau e Alexandra às mãos dos bolcheviques, este livro leva-nos num inesquecível tour de force pela Rússia Imperial.
Em 1613, Miguel Romanov é eleito czar numa Rússia em convulsão após o reinado de Ivan, o Terrível. Com apenas 16 anos vai dar início a uma das mais fascinantes dinastias imperiais da história: os Romanov. Foram 300 anos de poder e terror absolutos, marcados pela violência, devassidão e loucura dos seus governantes – e aqui narrados por Michael Farquhar com uma vivacidade e um rigor únicos.
De Pedro, o Grande, que teve o condão de abrir a Rússia ao Ocidente, mas que decapitava os súbditos rebeldes com as próprias mãos, a Pedro III, que levou oito anos a consumar o casamento – e que foi apanhado de surpresa quando a mulher lhe usurpou o trono; de Catarina, a Grande, que tanto se rodeava de artistas e filósofos ocidentais, como de amantes (cada vez mais jovens à medida que envelhecia); ao brutal destino final de Nicolau e Alexandra às mãos dos bolcheviques, este livro leva-nos num inesquecível tour de force pela Rússia Imperial.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 8, 2014
182 people are currently reading
1826 people want to read
About the author
Michael Farquhar
22 books221 followersMichael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Behind the Palace Doors and Secret Lives of the Tsars, as well as the popular Penguin "Treasury" series: A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. He lives in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
July 23, 2019
What the hell is this? Is this what's called 'history' these days? Is this what passes for a book?? An exercise in misplaced bigotry is what it is!
I firmly believe that any of our private lives could be made into debauchery, murder, madness and so on... Like this:
Suffering from clinical depression? => MADNESS identified!
Having more than 1, 2, 10 sex partners? => Debauchery identified! Slut-shaming mode enabled!
A king? => O horror, it's autocracy!
Being introverted? => Unsuited to ruling. There must be something wrong with his DNA!
Loving foreign cultures? => Hater of one's nation!
Loving your own culture? => Nationalist!
Reading a lot? => Removed from reality!
Preferring active pastimes to intellectual stuff? => Eccentric!
I do believe that none of us are perfect robots. We are humans, for Christ's sake! And the Romanovs were humans and therefore had their strengths and weaknesses, successes and failings. And the author has failed recognizing this, which is damn surprising for a historian! What the reader gets, is a bash-fest of every petty thing the author decided to include, while excluding the things that actually drove history.
Female-bashing was extra pathetic in here! Catherine the Great? She had many sexual partners? How the hell is it different from feminism and sexual liberation and everything modern? BTW, she was known to have asked her doctors to do something so that she wouldn't need men so much. She might have had a condition of sorts or she just could have been in possession of strong libido (which is normal but could have surprised her contemporaries who believed in female hysteria and other BS). She also was a humanist, knew a bunch of languages, loved philosophy and humanism, lettered with the most forward thinkers of her time (think Voltaire!). She worked on developing laws and ran a number of innovative reforms that were drastically needed at the time! So, forgive me but I don't think that her sexual appetite was the most important thing about her by which she should become known to posterity! Yes it's a fun thing to know but NOT the most important feature of her rule or one to bash her about hundreds of years after she ruled.
Mindbogglingly ludicrous. I've no idea how someone would write a book about history missing all important things and dragging about the equivalent of yellow press tidbits...
My patience is very thin with reading cherry-picked, heavily edited versions of anecdotal history. This one getting 1 star is me being extremely generous, since it should get full negative marks.
Even the Chapters are named distastefully as hell:
Q:
CHAPTER 1
Ivan V and Peter I (1682–1696): One Autocrat Too Many
CHAPTER 2
Peter I (1696–1725): The Eccentricities of an Emperor
CHAPTER 3
Catherine I (1725–1727): The Peasant Empress
CHAPTER 4
Anna (1730–1740): “A Bored Estate Mistress”
CHAPTER 5
Elizabeth (1741–1762): The Empress of Pretense
CHAPTER 6
Peter III (1762): “Nature Made Him a Mere Poltroon”
CHAPTER 7
Catherine II (1762–1796): “Prey to This Mad Passion!”
CHAPTER 8
Paul (1796–1801): “He Detests His Nation”
CHAPTER 9
Alexander I (1801–1825): Napoleon’s Conqueror
CHAPTER 10
Nicholas I (1825–1855): “A Condescending Jupiter”
CHAPTER 11
Alexander II (1855–1881): “A Crowned Semi-Ruin”
CHAPTER 12
Alexander III (1881–1894): “A Colossus of Unwavering Autocracy”
CHAPTER 13
Nicholas II (1894–1917): “An Absolute Child”
(c) IS THIS WHAT PASSES FOR HISTORY THESE DAYS????? Cringe-worthy! It just makes an informed reader feeling that the author had some bone to pick with all those dead rulers.
So, they weren't democratic, so what? There was the serfdom afoot? Well, from what I hear, Afroamerican slaves weren't feeling as peachy as well on another continent. And serfdom was abolished in 1861 without any segregation to be pursued. For comparison, on another continent the Civil War was over in 1965 with decades of segregation to follow. So, it would seem that all the monarchs that were so mistreated in this book managed to do things right, after all.
I firmly believe that any of our private lives could be made into debauchery, murder, madness and so on... Like this:
Suffering from clinical depression? => MADNESS identified!
Having more than 1, 2, 10 sex partners? => Debauchery identified! Slut-shaming mode enabled!
A king? => O horror, it's autocracy!
Being introverted? => Unsuited to ruling. There must be something wrong with his DNA!
Loving foreign cultures? => Hater of one's nation!
Loving your own culture? => Nationalist!
Reading a lot? => Removed from reality!
Preferring active pastimes to intellectual stuff? => Eccentric!
I do believe that none of us are perfect robots. We are humans, for Christ's sake! And the Romanovs were humans and therefore had their strengths and weaknesses, successes and failings. And the author has failed recognizing this, which is damn surprising for a historian! What the reader gets, is a bash-fest of every petty thing the author decided to include, while excluding the things that actually drove history.
Female-bashing was extra pathetic in here! Catherine the Great? She had many sexual partners? How the hell is it different from feminism and sexual liberation and everything modern? BTW, she was known to have asked her doctors to do something so that she wouldn't need men so much. She might have had a condition of sorts or she just could have been in possession of strong libido (which is normal but could have surprised her contemporaries who believed in female hysteria and other BS). She also was a humanist, knew a bunch of languages, loved philosophy and humanism, lettered with the most forward thinkers of her time (think Voltaire!). She worked on developing laws and ran a number of innovative reforms that were drastically needed at the time! So, forgive me but I don't think that her sexual appetite was the most important thing about her by which she should become known to posterity! Yes it's a fun thing to know but NOT the most important feature of her rule or one to bash her about hundreds of years after she ruled.
Mindbogglingly ludicrous. I've no idea how someone would write a book about history missing all important things and dragging about the equivalent of yellow press tidbits...
My patience is very thin with reading cherry-picked, heavily edited versions of anecdotal history. This one getting 1 star is me being extremely generous, since it should get full negative marks.
Even the Chapters are named distastefully as hell:
Q:
CHAPTER 1
Ivan V and Peter I (1682–1696): One Autocrat Too Many
CHAPTER 2
Peter I (1696–1725): The Eccentricities of an Emperor
CHAPTER 3
Catherine I (1725–1727): The Peasant Empress
CHAPTER 4
Anna (1730–1740): “A Bored Estate Mistress”
CHAPTER 5
Elizabeth (1741–1762): The Empress of Pretense
CHAPTER 6
Peter III (1762): “Nature Made Him a Mere Poltroon”
CHAPTER 7
Catherine II (1762–1796): “Prey to This Mad Passion!”
CHAPTER 8
Paul (1796–1801): “He Detests His Nation”
CHAPTER 9
Alexander I (1801–1825): Napoleon’s Conqueror
CHAPTER 10
Nicholas I (1825–1855): “A Condescending Jupiter”
CHAPTER 11
Alexander II (1855–1881): “A Crowned Semi-Ruin”
CHAPTER 12
Alexander III (1881–1894): “A Colossus of Unwavering Autocracy”
CHAPTER 13
Nicholas II (1894–1917): “An Absolute Child”
(c) IS THIS WHAT PASSES FOR HISTORY THESE DAYS????? Cringe-worthy! It just makes an informed reader feeling that the author had some bone to pick with all those dead rulers.
So, they weren't democratic, so what? There was the serfdom afoot? Well, from what I hear, Afroamerican slaves weren't feeling as peachy as well on another continent. And serfdom was abolished in 1861 without any segregation to be pursued. For comparison, on another continent the Civil War was over in 1965 with decades of segregation to follow. So, it would seem that all the monarchs that were so mistreated in this book managed to do things right, after all.
October 1, 2017
Wikipedia must be sick of my constant searches on the Russian Tsars. Then I end up looking up the various side relations (cousins, brothers, sisters, Grand Dukes) and, hours later, can't remember which Tsar I had started with, so I start the process all over again. This book is very handy and provides the Wiki team with some relief from my "so which Tsar was the one who was killed" (quite a few).
The book focuses on the Romanov family, first beginning with the explanation for the end of the previous Rurik dynasty (which deserves its own book). Combining the intrigue of the Byzantine residue and the Slavic/Viking heritage, these are some real whoppers. Yes, there's Peter the Great and Catherine the Great and Alexander I and Alexander III. But really, the rest were just whacked out of their heads. I mean, really. Each leader gets a chapter and one wonders just how "royal" some were, given the extra-marital births that took place. Still, the sad end result of them all was Nicholas II. His ending was horrible and I had to hurry through to the finish so I wouldn't think too much about it.
Learned quite a bit. I always got confused with the 19th Century group, so this was very helpful. Interesting to learn just how German they were (which might explain a few traits). This is not a long in-depth tome about Russian leaders, but it certainly hit the spot and kept me away from the world of Wiki for a bit, so bravo.
Book Season - Summer (no tears, no questions)
The book focuses on the Romanov family, first beginning with the explanation for the end of the previous Rurik dynasty (which deserves its own book). Combining the intrigue of the Byzantine residue and the Slavic/Viking heritage, these are some real whoppers. Yes, there's Peter the Great and Catherine the Great and Alexander I and Alexander III. But really, the rest were just whacked out of their heads. I mean, really. Each leader gets a chapter and one wonders just how "royal" some were, given the extra-marital births that took place. Still, the sad end result of them all was Nicholas II. His ending was horrible and I had to hurry through to the finish so I wouldn't think too much about it.
Learned quite a bit. I always got confused with the 19th Century group, so this was very helpful. Interesting to learn just how German they were (which might explain a few traits). This is not a long in-depth tome about Russian leaders, but it certainly hit the spot and kept me away from the world of Wiki for a bit, so bravo.
Book Season - Summer (no tears, no questions)
April 5, 2014
Disclaimer: ARC read via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
Perhaps it is unfair to read this book after reading Elephant Company, which was the type of book that made me want to go find everything else by the author. This isn’t the first Farquhar book I’ve read, and last year I read Hughes book about the Romanovs.
But it’s Farquhar. Even when he writes about things you know like the back of your hand, he is hilarious. It’s a joy to spend a few hours reading one of his books. He’s like the professor whose classes are always filled from day one.
In this slim volume about the Russian Romanov Tsar, Farquhar shows that the same wit and vibe he brought to American history, and scandals in royal houses, is aptly suited for vodka drinking Tsars. Even if you have read Hughes’ excellent work that covers the same material, Farquhar’s book will include little tidbits that are just completely strange and historically unimportant, but great to know. Like in the footnotes of Terry Pratchett, the footnotes of Farquhar are ones that no reader should miss. Some of his best bits are there – like the bit about cross dressing success (this was not in Hughes, though she is a source).
Perhaps the weakest part of the book, and weakest isn’t quite the world, are the three chapters that focus on the most famous Romanovs of all – Nicholas, Alexandra and their children. While it is understandable to include a more detailed look at the end of the rulers, it does feel a little bit dragged out – except for the part detailing Alexandra’s character. The in depth look at Alexandra’s actions and behavior, outside of her understandable desire to save her son, were particularly well done and strengthen what would have been a too drawn out look.
Furthermore, considering recent events concerning Russia and the Ukraine, there are few choice bits in this book that will shed more light or understanding on the Crimea events. Good timing on Farquhar’s part and it makes it a worthwhile read.
As always, there is a nice list of further reading and source works.
If you haven’t read anything about the Romanovs before, this book is an excellent introduction.
Crossposted at Booklikes
Perhaps it is unfair to read this book after reading Elephant Company, which was the type of book that made me want to go find everything else by the author. This isn’t the first Farquhar book I’ve read, and last year I read Hughes book about the Romanovs.
But it’s Farquhar. Even when he writes about things you know like the back of your hand, he is hilarious. It’s a joy to spend a few hours reading one of his books. He’s like the professor whose classes are always filled from day one.
In this slim volume about the Russian Romanov Tsar, Farquhar shows that the same wit and vibe he brought to American history, and scandals in royal houses, is aptly suited for vodka drinking Tsars. Even if you have read Hughes’ excellent work that covers the same material, Farquhar’s book will include little tidbits that are just completely strange and historically unimportant, but great to know. Like in the footnotes of Terry Pratchett, the footnotes of Farquhar are ones that no reader should miss. Some of his best bits are there – like the bit about cross dressing success (this was not in Hughes, though she is a source).
Perhaps the weakest part of the book, and weakest isn’t quite the world, are the three chapters that focus on the most famous Romanovs of all – Nicholas, Alexandra and their children. While it is understandable to include a more detailed look at the end of the rulers, it does feel a little bit dragged out – except for the part detailing Alexandra’s character. The in depth look at Alexandra’s actions and behavior, outside of her understandable desire to save her son, were particularly well done and strengthen what would have been a too drawn out look.
Furthermore, considering recent events concerning Russia and the Ukraine, there are few choice bits in this book that will shed more light or understanding on the Crimea events. Good timing on Farquhar’s part and it makes it a worthwhile read.
As always, there is a nice list of further reading and source works.
If you haven’t read anything about the Romanovs before, this book is an excellent introduction.
Crossposted at Booklikes
August 6, 2016
"Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia" by Michael Farquhar is a well written and easy to read account of the private and public lives of three hundred years worth of Russian Emperors and Empresses.
Focusing on the violence, the back stabbing and adultery, this reads like a historical soap opera, thanks to the lives of the tsars.
Although a lot will never be known for sure, the author seems to have done enough research to make educated guesses. It made me very happy not to have lived in those times.
The writing style compresses the history parts and other backgrounds into sizeable chunks, giving a good overview over the European politics and other developments without losing focus on the dynasties and the bloody line to the thrown. Other historians can get lost in the detail, which Farquhar so excellently avoided. However, there is still enough history in it for me to feel that I was reminded of the important basics and leared new facts.
A very rich and enjoyable read.
I reviewed this book for netgalley.com
Focusing on the violence, the back stabbing and adultery, this reads like a historical soap opera, thanks to the lives of the tsars.
Although a lot will never be known for sure, the author seems to have done enough research to make educated guesses. It made me very happy not to have lived in those times.
The writing style compresses the history parts and other backgrounds into sizeable chunks, giving a good overview over the European politics and other developments without losing focus on the dynasties and the bloody line to the thrown. Other historians can get lost in the detail, which Farquhar so excellently avoided. However, there is still enough history in it for me to feel that I was reminded of the important basics and leared new facts.
A very rich and enjoyable read.
I reviewed this book for netgalley.com
August 28, 2014
3.5 Stars
**Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review**
This was a great introduction to the Romanov dynasty. I'm a little embarrassed to admit the only people I already really knew anything about was Catherine the Great and Anastasia. This was a great book to pick up and put down when you had a few spare minutes. Each chapter is sprinkled with really great footnotes. These weren't really needed, but they were great additions. I liked that the author went out of his way to include little bits of information about the people surrounding the Tsars and their families.
This book was a little odd in that the writing changed drastically half way through. I loved the first half of the book. It was exactly what the title promised. These chapters flew by for me. They were filled with humorous (and morbid) tidbits about the early Romanov line. If the whole book had been written this way, it would have been a solid 5 stars. The second half of the book read more like a text book. I still enjoyed most of it, but it took me a lot longer to get through. They were a lot more detailed then the chapters in the first half. While the still focused on the Tsars, the branched out more to include detailed events that happened during the Tsars ruling.
I have only one real complaint about this title. Two sections were too drawn out. First was Catherine the Great. She dominated not only her chapter, but also the chapters belonging to her husband and son. Honestly, I grew bored of her. I really wish the author had left her the main focus of her chapter only. Second was the last few chapters dealing with Nicholas and Alexandra. These last chapters were way too dry and drawn out for my taste. They also left me feeling no sympathy whatsoever for Nicholas and Alexandra. I don't condone what happened to them, but I can understand the peoples reaction. Their children are another story. The children never should have suffered that fate they did.
May 25, 2016
This was an audio book that I started because I had mind-numbing task for work to do--and I needed something to occupy the 99.5% of my brain the task wasn't going to occupy. I wanted something fun, light-hearted, and nothing that would make me cry (this is a vital consideration as I was at work).
Russian history, especially of the Romanovs, is just fascinating. You almost have to forcibly put the early rulers with their Western Europe contemporaries to understand the dramatic contrast in culture and expectations. Ivan the Terrible asked Elizabeth I to marry him, which just boggles the head.
This book goes through the entire Romanov family and the rulers. If you ever wanted to feel really good about your own family dynamics--read this book! (Assuming you haven't a) killed your son after telling his wife to put on more clothes; b) beheaded your mistress and then used her decapitated head to give an impromptu anatomy lesson; or c) had your ex lover choose your next lover that would be 1/3 your age. If any of these are true, you should still read this book as it may give you some tips.) Now, no family is perfect. And power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And wow, were the Romanovs corrupt at times. Even the best of them were kinda squirrelly. Then when you get to Nick II and Alexandra, you know it's going to end poorly. No one could make up a character like Rasputin--because he's unbelievable.
The idea of being given a country to rule by the hand of God is so foreign to our modern sensibilities that it's almost impossible to feel empathy for the cast of characters thrown at us. But you sort of have to. The violence of their lives bred violence and eventually it exploded and destroyed the family. The absolute decadence of their lives is surreal.
Is this the best book you can read on the Romanovs--no. They are a complicated family in which each character demands a full volume. Can you be entertained by the book equivalent of Daily Mail (I Know) approach to their foibles. Yes, you can. And you can get a lot of mindless work done while you listen.
Russian history, especially of the Romanovs, is just fascinating. You almost have to forcibly put the early rulers with their Western Europe contemporaries to understand the dramatic contrast in culture and expectations. Ivan the Terrible asked Elizabeth I to marry him, which just boggles the head.
This book goes through the entire Romanov family and the rulers. If you ever wanted to feel really good about your own family dynamics--read this book! (Assuming you haven't a) killed your son after telling his wife to put on more clothes; b) beheaded your mistress and then used her decapitated head to give an impromptu anatomy lesson; or c) had your ex lover choose your next lover that would be 1/3 your age. If any of these are true, you should still read this book as it may give you some tips.) Now, no family is perfect. And power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And wow, were the Romanovs corrupt at times. Even the best of them were kinda squirrelly. Then when you get to Nick II and Alexandra, you know it's going to end poorly. No one could make up a character like Rasputin--because he's unbelievable.
The idea of being given a country to rule by the hand of God is so foreign to our modern sensibilities that it's almost impossible to feel empathy for the cast of characters thrown at us. But you sort of have to. The violence of their lives bred violence and eventually it exploded and destroyed the family. The absolute decadence of their lives is surreal.
Is this the best book you can read on the Romanovs--no. They are a complicated family in which each character demands a full volume. Can you be entertained by the book equivalent of Daily Mail (I Know) approach to their foibles. Yes, you can. And you can get a lot of mindless work done while you listen.
March 10, 2014
Concise yet vivid accounts of tsarist regimes, unsparingly honest about cruelty, brutality and indifference to the lives of others. The complex political and familial connections within each regime are presented in a way that will jar the memories of readers already familiar with Russian history and pique the curiosity of readers with less familiarity. Good notes at the end of each chapter, and frequent references to other historians and biographers within the text that may inspire readers to seek out other works. The author’s tight storytelling, combined with foreshadowing, give each chapter a sense of increasing foreboding as the inevitable murder of the Romanovs draws near. As a librarian, I’d consider recommending this to students with the advice that they should go on to read some of the source material listed in the bibliography.
May 20, 2020
Russia. I don’t even know where to begin. Their history is so strange and bloody it makes U.S. history look like Seasame Street. The stories in this book are so bizarre and shocking you will find yourself doubting your very sanity. I can’t decide if I should dig deeper into Russian history or just give up now.
February 23, 2021
A zippy tour through the history of an entertainingly weird (and thoroughly rotten) royal family. It's only failing: the cruelties the Romanovs perpetrated on each other are covered in detail, while the cruelties they perpetrated on their subjects are described in broad strokes that don't quite bring home the horror. This is particularly galling when it comes to Nicholas II and Alexandra, the last Tsars. We are treated to heart-rending scenes of their unconscionable brutalization and murder by wicked Bolsheviks, but there are no heart-rending scenes of starving peasant families, Jews killed in pogroms, or soldiers getting maimed and killed on the fields of WWI thanks to Romanov misrule.
May 11, 2023
A thoroughly engaging romp through the bloodiest moments of Russia’s history, and through each of her tsars and tsaritsas.
March 7, 2014
*An e-ARC was received through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair review*
wp.me/p32oat-R2
Normally I try and review books much closer to publication time, but given today’s political environment, a review of how Russia came to be Russia seemed rather fitting. For although the Romanovs have been off the through just shy of a century now (97 years to be exact) if you look at the leadership of the Soviet Union and now Putin, there is a sense that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I want to give a tip of my ushanka to Mr. Farquhar, because he has managed an impressive feat: simplifying three hundred years in a way that, while still very much an overview gives you enough context and insight that it doesn’t necessarily feel shallow. Furthermore, an extra appreciated touch is that book doesn’t focus on the lurid. While he does, of course, mention the rumors of Catherine’s equine lovers, it’s dismissed as quickly as it is brought up. This is a true history book and gives the subjects of the book the respect that they deserve.
The only thing I have a quibble with is that the art, and to a more limited extent, the summary almost imply that this might have a humorous element to it and I can’t say that it does. The author keeps what can be some dark history fairly light, but I wouldn’t call this a funny book, outside of a few descriptions in the introduction. It’s not a knock against the book, but it may not be what you’re expecting. When available, you might want to download a sample and see if it’s right for you.
As for me, I was pleased with it. I thought the book was well-weighted in terms of time spent on the various Tsars and there is a sufficiently detailed selected bibliography that it should give someone who wants to dig deeper plenty of places to start looking. It’s a good introduction to the Romanov dynasty and not a bad way to dip your toes in the very deep pool of Imperial Russian history.
wp.me/p32oat-R2
Normally I try and review books much closer to publication time, but given today’s political environment, a review of how Russia came to be Russia seemed rather fitting. For although the Romanovs have been off the through just shy of a century now (97 years to be exact) if you look at the leadership of the Soviet Union and now Putin, there is a sense that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I want to give a tip of my ushanka to Mr. Farquhar, because he has managed an impressive feat: simplifying three hundred years in a way that, while still very much an overview gives you enough context and insight that it doesn’t necessarily feel shallow. Furthermore, an extra appreciated touch is that book doesn’t focus on the lurid. While he does, of course, mention the rumors of Catherine’s equine lovers, it’s dismissed as quickly as it is brought up. This is a true history book and gives the subjects of the book the respect that they deserve.
The only thing I have a quibble with is that the art, and to a more limited extent, the summary almost imply that this might have a humorous element to it and I can’t say that it does. The author keeps what can be some dark history fairly light, but I wouldn’t call this a funny book, outside of a few descriptions in the introduction. It’s not a knock against the book, but it may not be what you’re expecting. When available, you might want to download a sample and see if it’s right for you.
As for me, I was pleased with it. I thought the book was well-weighted in terms of time spent on the various Tsars and there is a sufficiently detailed selected bibliography that it should give someone who wants to dig deeper plenty of places to start looking. It’s a good introduction to the Romanov dynasty and not a bad way to dip your toes in the very deep pool of Imperial Russian history.
June 28, 2015
This is a very accessible orientation of the Romanov dynasty. It covers the tsars in a gossip-rag style, devoting about a chapter to each tsar (with the exception of Nicholas II, who gets three chapters to his downfall).
The book was light and easy to read, and it helped me straighten out some of the tsars (I remember Ivan, Peter, Catherine, and then I get muddy until Alexander III). I would call this a very light history (no real original research - Farquhar cites most of the more serious biographers frequently). It's readable and titillating, but I found myself bored with the chapters about Catherine (I loved Robert Massie's Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman) and Nicholas II and Alexandra (too many more books to count). For people who really know the Romanovs, this isn't worth their time.
In short, this is a good primer but it's like getting news from Entertainment Tonight instead of CNN. It's designed to entertain, but not educate.
The book was light and easy to read, and it helped me straighten out some of the tsars (I remember Ivan, Peter, Catherine, and then I get muddy until Alexander III). I would call this a very light history (no real original research - Farquhar cites most of the more serious biographers frequently). It's readable and titillating, but I found myself bored with the chapters about Catherine (I loved Robert Massie's Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman) and Nicholas II and Alexandra (too many more books to count). For people who really know the Romanovs, this isn't worth their time.
In short, this is a good primer but it's like getting news from Entertainment Tonight instead of CNN. It's designed to entertain, but not educate.
April 25, 2014
Secret Lives of the Tsars is amazingly a well researched and documented lives of the rulers of Russia. I really enjoyed reading about the Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei. Even reading about Rasputin. This period of Russian history always fascinated. I liked learning about them and their life. As well as, the other rulers in history. I believe this was an interesting read.
4 stars.
4 stars.
April 24, 2017
Just as well written as the other books by this author I have read but this one is so depressing. It is disheartening to believe that so many generations of the same family could be so cruel and heartless. Mr. Farquhar's other books are generally about the nastier side of history but the others I have read are also entertaining. This one lingers in my mind as hurtful.
November 18, 2022
Quick overall look at the history of the Romanov ruling dynasty over Russia for basically three hundred years. As expected there were some 'good' tsars and some 'not-so-good' ones. As in tyrant personified with cruelty, brutality, egotism and barbarity all mixed together. A Russian tsar ruled as an absolute monarch with the proverbial writ from God so literally anything they could think of, was - basically - allowed. Of course, in turn, there are some tsars that used their authority for the benefit of their people which was personified in Tsar Alexander II who basically freed all his subjects and was thanked by numerous assassination attempts that eventually succeeded.
Sadly, the last tsar, Nicholas II didn't want the job and fell completely under the control of his wife who would badger her husband into appointing incompetent, inept individuals that were friends, allies or minions of Gregori Rasputin. Their eventual execution at the hands of the Soviet insurgents only led to more suffering for those not in power or connected with it.
Perhaps the brutality and harshness that was a part of the history and traditions of the Russian people made them a bit more tolerant of the cruelty under the Soviet leaders of Lenin and Stalin. Maybe. . . .
Farquhar does tell these tales with an occasional tongue-in-cheek sarcastic comment but for the most part, he doesn't need to. The tsars actions - or lack of them - can prove their foolishness and/or brilliance without any help from the author.
2022-252
Sadly, the last tsar, Nicholas II didn't want the job and fell completely under the control of his wife who would badger her husband into appointing incompetent, inept individuals that were friends, allies or minions of Gregori Rasputin. Their eventual execution at the hands of the Soviet insurgents only led to more suffering for those not in power or connected with it.
Perhaps the brutality and harshness that was a part of the history and traditions of the Russian people made them a bit more tolerant of the cruelty under the Soviet leaders of Lenin and Stalin. Maybe. . . .
Farquhar does tell these tales with an occasional tongue-in-cheek sarcastic comment but for the most part, he doesn't need to. The tsars actions - or lack of them - can prove their foolishness and/or brilliance without any help from the author.
2022-252
March 9, 2025
A good and quick primer on each of the Romanovs
October 8, 2022
Kto chociaż raz nie wyszukiwał jakiegokolwiek monarchy w Internecie czy książkach? Pomimo tego, że panujących monarchów we współczesnym świecie już na palcach można liczyć, to pewna fascynacja tematyką nadal pozostaje żywa.
No sięgnęło mi się po "Sekrety carów. Intrygi, skandale i zbrodnie Romanowów" autorstwa Michaela Farquhara. Czy było warto? Czyta się szybko i ciężko się oderwać, to na pewno. Rozpoczynamy od pierwszych Romanowów aby zakończyć na egzekucji Mikołaja II, Aleksandry i ich dzieci. Nie warto jednak liczyć na wiele więcej niż ciekawostki o każdym kolejnym władcy, intrygi dworskie i skandale. Panowanie Mikołaja II zostało rozłożone na więcej niż jeden rozdział i tam mamy zaprezentowane więcej działań politycznych, głównie Aleksandry i Rasputina, ale w przypadku innych władców raczej skupiamy się na tych personalnych częściach ich życia.
Każdy rozdział (oprócz trzech ostatnich) opisuje okres panowania jednego z władców. Oprócz ich imion znajdziemy tam również dodatkowy dopisek mający charakteryzować daną postać. Nie powiedziałabym, że wszystkie są trafione, a raczej zbudowane na wzór współczesnych portali plotkarskich aby przyciągnąć czytelnika. Równie dobrze mógłby to być "plotek" o Romanowach. Weźmy na przykład Annę Iwanowną, carycę w latach 1730-1740 - "znudzona kochanka na włościach", Elżbietę (1741-1762) - "cesarzowa pretensjonalna" czy Piotra III (1762) - "urodzony trusia".
Książka jest zbudowana jak jeden ze współczesnych seriali, mający przede wszystkim szokować i eksponować choćby i najmniejsze skandale, wady i potknięcia członków carskiej rodziny. To również jeden z powodów dlaczego tak łatwo i szybko się to czyta - aż tak mocno w same fakty historyczne tu nie wchodzimy, to raczej studium psychicznej kondycji Romanowów przez 300 lat ich panowania.
Wiele recenzji tej książki właśnie na to zwraca uwagę - że jest to tania rozrywka, wykorzystująca materiał i postacie historyczne, z pominięciem tego co działo się wokół. I tak można by to podsumować. Jak już wspominałam, ostatnie trzy rozdziały, dotyczące panowania Mikołaja II wprowadzają zdecydowanie więcej tła z epoki - czy to w związku z I Wojną Światową, czy kolejnymi rewolucjami toczącymi się przez Rosję. Jedynie o Napoleonie zapamiętałam porównywalną liczbę wzmianek w tej pozycji.
Na plus należy ocenić analizę relacji między Aleksandrą i Rasputinem ale w kwestii jej wpływu na podejmowane decyzje i rządzenie Rosją w ostatnich latach dynastii. Osobiście po raz pierwszy miałam okazję się dowiedzieć jak bardzo to Aleksandra rządziła przez ostatnie lata, a nie Mikołaj, przebywający praktycznie stale na froncie. Teoretycznie Aleksandra "doradzała" mężowi, który jednak na wszystko się zgadzał. To ona mianowała kolejnych ministrów, dymisjonowała tych, którzy nie byli przychylni Rasputinowi i nie potrafiła się pogodzić z nadchodzącą potrzebą oddania władzy w ręce ludu.
Czy pozycję polecam? Zależy co kto lubi - jeśli interesują Was bardziej fakty historyczne, procesy i przemiany czy wpływ podejmowanych decyzji na społeczeństwo i stan państwa to możecie się rozczarować. Jeśli z kolei szukacie czegoś lekkiego i dotyczącego bardziej samych postaci, ich usposobienia, życia osobistego - to jak najbardziej. Ostrzegam tylko przed ostatnimi stronami - opisy niewoli i egzekucji rodziny cara Mikołaja II są bardzo dokładne.
No sięgnęło mi się po "Sekrety carów. Intrygi, skandale i zbrodnie Romanowów" autorstwa Michaela Farquhara. Czy było warto? Czyta się szybko i ciężko się oderwać, to na pewno. Rozpoczynamy od pierwszych Romanowów aby zakończyć na egzekucji Mikołaja II, Aleksandry i ich dzieci. Nie warto jednak liczyć na wiele więcej niż ciekawostki o każdym kolejnym władcy, intrygi dworskie i skandale. Panowanie Mikołaja II zostało rozłożone na więcej niż jeden rozdział i tam mamy zaprezentowane więcej działań politycznych, głównie Aleksandry i Rasputina, ale w przypadku innych władców raczej skupiamy się na tych personalnych częściach ich życia.
Każdy rozdział (oprócz trzech ostatnich) opisuje okres panowania jednego z władców. Oprócz ich imion znajdziemy tam również dodatkowy dopisek mający charakteryzować daną postać. Nie powiedziałabym, że wszystkie są trafione, a raczej zbudowane na wzór współczesnych portali plotkarskich aby przyciągnąć czytelnika. Równie dobrze mógłby to być "plotek" o Romanowach. Weźmy na przykład Annę Iwanowną, carycę w latach 1730-1740 - "znudzona kochanka na włościach", Elżbietę (1741-1762) - "cesarzowa pretensjonalna" czy Piotra III (1762) - "urodzony trusia".
Książka jest zbudowana jak jeden ze współczesnych seriali, mający przede wszystkim szokować i eksponować choćby i najmniejsze skandale, wady i potknięcia członków carskiej rodziny. To również jeden z powodów dlaczego tak łatwo i szybko się to czyta - aż tak mocno w same fakty historyczne tu nie wchodzimy, to raczej studium psychicznej kondycji Romanowów przez 300 lat ich panowania.
Wiele recenzji tej książki właśnie na to zwraca uwagę - że jest to tania rozrywka, wykorzystująca materiał i postacie historyczne, z pominięciem tego co działo się wokół. I tak można by to podsumować. Jak już wspominałam, ostatnie trzy rozdziały, dotyczące panowania Mikołaja II wprowadzają zdecydowanie więcej tła z epoki - czy to w związku z I Wojną Światową, czy kolejnymi rewolucjami toczącymi się przez Rosję. Jedynie o Napoleonie zapamiętałam porównywalną liczbę wzmianek w tej pozycji.
Na plus należy ocenić analizę relacji między Aleksandrą i Rasputinem ale w kwestii jej wpływu na podejmowane decyzje i rządzenie Rosją w ostatnich latach dynastii. Osobiście po raz pierwszy miałam okazję się dowiedzieć jak bardzo to Aleksandra rządziła przez ostatnie lata, a nie Mikołaj, przebywający praktycznie stale na froncie. Teoretycznie Aleksandra "doradzała" mężowi, który jednak na wszystko się zgadzał. To ona mianowała kolejnych ministrów, dymisjonowała tych, którzy nie byli przychylni Rasputinowi i nie potrafiła się pogodzić z nadchodzącą potrzebą oddania władzy w ręce ludu.
Czy pozycję polecam? Zależy co kto lubi - jeśli interesują Was bardziej fakty historyczne, procesy i przemiany czy wpływ podejmowanych decyzji na społeczeństwo i stan państwa to możecie się rozczarować. Jeśli z kolei szukacie czegoś lekkiego i dotyczącego bardziej samych postaci, ich usposobienia, życia osobistego - to jak najbardziej. Ostrzegam tylko przed ostatnimi stronami - opisy niewoli i egzekucji rodziny cara Mikołaja II są bardzo dokładne.
April 15, 2015
Today's post is on Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, And Madness from Romanov Russia by Michael Farquhar. It is 349 pages long and is published by Random House. The cover is illustrated pictures of the various Romanov Tsars. The intended reader is someone who likes history, and Russian history. There is some language, sex, and violence in this book. The story is told from third person perspective with letters, dairies, and other first hand resources for added depth. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world's most engaging royal historian chronicles the world'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 end-less 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 mother's paramours dug out of its grave and tossed into a gorge; and Grigori Rasputin, the “Mad Monk,” whose mesmeric domination of the last of the Romanov tsars helped lead to the monarchy's undoing. From Peter the Great's penchant for personally beheading his recalcitrant subjects (he kept the severed head of one of his mistresses pickled in alcohol) to Nicholas and Alexandra's brutal demise at the hands of the Bolsheviks, Secret Live of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia.
Review- These stories about the Romanovs are funny, heartbreaking, tragic, and blood-thirsty. I liked a lot about this book but the biggest thing that I liked was that Farquhar traced each ruler from birth to death. He does not overwhelm the reader with all the little details of their lives but in the end I have a good basic grounding about their lives and reign. This book is very well written and the research is excellent. Farquhar not only gives a good grounding in the Romanov family but in Russia as well. He talks about why Russia was and is the way that it is to this day. Farquhar clearly loves his job and it shows in his work. The passion to detail, the little footnotes for added favor, and the end notes for further reading everything is just wonderful. The footnotes do what I think that footnotes should do which is just add a little extra something to the narrative. I will be picking up another of his books to read.
I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
From the back of the book- Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world's most engaging royal historian chronicles the world'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 end-less 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 mother's paramours dug out of its grave and tossed into a gorge; and Grigori Rasputin, the “Mad Monk,” whose mesmeric domination of the last of the Romanov tsars helped lead to the monarchy's undoing. From Peter the Great's penchant for personally beheading his recalcitrant subjects (he kept the severed head of one of his mistresses pickled in alcohol) to Nicholas and Alexandra's brutal demise at the hands of the Bolsheviks, Secret Live of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia.
Review- These stories about the Romanovs are funny, heartbreaking, tragic, and blood-thirsty. I liked a lot about this book but the biggest thing that I liked was that Farquhar traced each ruler from birth to death. He does not overwhelm the reader with all the little details of their lives but in the end I have a good basic grounding about their lives and reign. This book is very well written and the research is excellent. Farquhar not only gives a good grounding in the Romanov family but in Russia as well. He talks about why Russia was and is the way that it is to this day. Farquhar clearly loves his job and it shows in his work. The passion to detail, the little footnotes for added favor, and the end notes for further reading everything is just wonderful. The footnotes do what I think that footnotes should do which is just add a little extra something to the narrative. I will be picking up another of his books to read.
I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
July 30, 2018
This was the first book I had ever read about the Romanovs and it really ignited a real interest in not just the fallen Russian monarchy but in Russia itself and in the forces that have carved it into what it is today. Funnily enough, although I started reading this book 2 years ago, that knowledge seems more necessary than ever.
Although the book is written with humor and levity, I appreciated the author's attempts to humanize each ruler, no matter how "crazy" or autocratic they might have been. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Catherine the Great, who seems to have lived multiple lives in a way, but who definitely seems deserving of the moniker given her ability to keep herself alive and to change herself to suit the situation. I raced through most of this when I first started reading it but took a break as I neared the end because the threats of terrorism to the royals hit just a little too close to home as I was currently traveling through Europe during my initial reading and because I wasn't in any rush to get to the tragic end.
I recently finished Notorious Royal Marriages which delves into the story of the last tsar, Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra but that book focused on their marriage and how they cultivated their family life which seemed largely quite loving and sweet despite the way their country and lives were crumbling around them. This book details just why Nicholas and Alexandra were such terrible rulers and how their poor governance led them down such a dangerous and ultimately fatal path and as a result, it ended up being a perfect companion to the picture laid out in that other book. And perhaps this is the benefit of living in a world where governing monarchs are becoming less and less common. Because Nicholas and Alexandra probably would have been lovely partners to each other and good parents but they weren't at all suited to statecraft.
Although the book is written with humor and levity, I appreciated the author's attempts to humanize each ruler, no matter how "crazy" or autocratic they might have been. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Catherine the Great, who seems to have lived multiple lives in a way, but who definitely seems deserving of the moniker given her ability to keep herself alive and to change herself to suit the situation. I raced through most of this when I first started reading it but took a break as I neared the end because the threats of terrorism to the royals hit just a little too close to home as I was currently traveling through Europe during my initial reading and because I wasn't in any rush to get to the tragic end.
I recently finished Notorious Royal Marriages which delves into the story of the last tsar, Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra but that book focused on their marriage and how they cultivated their family life which seemed largely quite loving and sweet despite the way their country and lives were crumbling around them. This book details just why Nicholas and Alexandra were such terrible rulers and how their poor governance led them down such a dangerous and ultimately fatal path and as a result, it ended up being a perfect companion to the picture laid out in that other book. And perhaps this is the benefit of living in a world where governing monarchs are becoming less and less common. Because Nicholas and Alexandra probably would have been lovely partners to each other and good parents but they weren't at all suited to statecraft.
January 5, 2019
Farquhar's writing is engaging, concise, and anything but boring. I enjoyed having an overview of the Romanov dynasty. I wish he had a follow-up covering the Soviet takeover and regime!
The book effectively covers all of the tsars/tsarinas in the Romanov dynasty - there is a family tree in the beginning of the book that is incredibly helpful throughout each chapter. It's not an in-depth analysis of each ruler, but the basics are covered along with historical context. I had bought the book for entertainment value (it's not academic and has me imagining a historical gossip column) but was pleasantly surprised. It was both informative and entertaining due to Farquhar's humor and anecdotes throughout. Even the footnotes were interesting.
I have a bit of background in Russian literature, language, and history so I didn't learn a lot of new information. I wish the book had been a bit longer with more information dedicated to the first rulers of the dynasty. Despite that, it's a very enjoyable, quick read.
The book effectively covers all of the tsars/tsarinas in the Romanov dynasty - there is a family tree in the beginning of the book that is incredibly helpful throughout each chapter. It's not an in-depth analysis of each ruler, but the basics are covered along with historical context. I had bought the book for entertainment value (it's not academic and has me imagining a historical gossip column) but was pleasantly surprised. It was both informative and entertaining due to Farquhar's humor and anecdotes throughout. Even the footnotes were interesting.
I have a bit of background in Russian literature, language, and history so I didn't learn a lot of new information. I wish the book had been a bit longer with more information dedicated to the first rulers of the dynasty. Despite that, it's a very enjoyable, quick read.
February 27, 2021
Very entertaining read about the Romanovs in all their warts and glory
These are some of the juicy things you don't read about in school history class. A bit like Horrible Histories for grownups. I have read many serious biographies about these figures in Russian history but really don't remember any of the more salacious and nasty stuff. I wish the author had put as much verbiage into the tsars leading up to the last one as he did in the three chapters on Nicholas and Alexandra. Those were truly enlightening and I thought I knew most of their history before. What I didn't like was the very few times the writer slipped out of good factual historic English into street language like saying Empress Elizabeth was bombed, meaning drunk, not hit with explosives. That sort of thing took away from the credibility and authority of an otherwise good book and was frankly irritating.
These are some of the juicy things you don't read about in school history class. A bit like Horrible Histories for grownups. I have read many serious biographies about these figures in Russian history but really don't remember any of the more salacious and nasty stuff. I wish the author had put as much verbiage into the tsars leading up to the last one as he did in the three chapters on Nicholas and Alexandra. Those were truly enlightening and I thought I knew most of their history before. What I didn't like was the very few times the writer slipped out of good factual historic English into street language like saying Empress Elizabeth was bombed, meaning drunk, not hit with explosives. That sort of thing took away from the credibility and authority of an otherwise good book and was frankly irritating.
December 20, 2018
3.5 stars. Non-fiction read about 300 years of the Romanov dynasty. Not overwhelming..just enough information so that you can learn something about each Russian ruler from 1682 until 1917. Of course the one most are familiar with is Nicholas II who is related to Queen Elizabeth II's husband-Prince Philip and it was his DNA they used when they unearthed (1991) Nicholas II and his families' grave pit to determine it was really them. I've read quite a lot about Nicholas II and his families' demise at the hands of the Bolshevik's but this reading was the most detailed. A gruesome and tragic end that could have been avoided had King George V of England (Nicholas' first cousin and friend and Queen Elizabeth II Grandfather) not refused him sanctuary in Britain.
June 14, 2014
It's hard to say if any of the the biographical details in this book could be described as "secret". Most of the scandalous information about the Romanov dynasty covered in he book was publicly and internationally known at the time. The author eschews any tsar he deems as boring as well as any meaningful commentary on the actual policies of the tsars, and instead spends an unnecessary amount of time focusing on Catherine the Great's sex life (as if she never accomplished anything else). Also, the author uses very questionable primary sources and recycled secondary sources, meaning that there are better books on the subject that probably include the exact same scandalous and sordid details
October 29, 2016
I enjoy all of Michael Farquhar's books and was happy that he finally tackled the Tsars. As usual, he had some things that are fairly well known, Tsar Nicholas and family. While other things were you may never have heard of, Ivan the Terrible hitting the Tsarevitch's wife until she miscarried then when his son came to confront Ivan he hit his son on the head and killed him which eventually ended his line. It was a bit harder for me to get into than his other books and I had to take a few breaks while reading it. If you enjoy Tsarist Russian history I recommend it.
June 5, 2019
This was great. Loved it! Written in a very accessible way, even those only casually interested in history would still enjoy it. I have read a great deal about the Romanov’s but this is the first time I came away with a good sense of the Empress Alexandra and how she brought ruin upon Russia. Enough direct quotations from the letters she wrote to Nicholas at HQ were included to convince me of her folly.
July 23, 2017
This was a really good book. I liked how it was broken down between each Romanov ruler and their reign. It described their lives thoroughly without bogging you down with information overload. I'd only read about Tsar Nicholas II and his doomed family (which made this book really sad at the end), so I liked getting an introduction into the whole Romanov line.
July 8, 2020
Fascinating book that gives an interesting insight into the Russian psyche. But, wow, some of these people were absolutely nuts. Having grown up in a society that has no problem throwing autocrats and nut jobs out, it's sometimes difficult to fathom how people put up with the Tsars for so long, especially the more egregiously bonkers ones.
March 28, 2015
Meh. More of a brief popular history of the Romanov dynasty. I was already familiar with all of the dirty/crazy bits and the Farquhar's style is not as humorous as the quoted reviews would lead you to believe. For Russian history, I'll stick with Massey.
December 24, 2017
This gives you a good overview of the history of the Romanovs and a real look into the personalities of each Tsar, which is what made it for me. Russian history is complicated, but this book makes it easy to digest and makes you want to learn more.
April 25, 2018
Easy reading; totally transported.
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