The Romanovs

by Virginia Cowles

For over 300 years, the Romanov family ruled over Russia. Its glittering Tsars and Tsarinas were autocratic despots, who between them embraced all the vices (and too few of the virtues) of absolute rulers. Their name has become a byword for excess, avarice and cruelty, they have aroused intrigue and horror in equal measure. Virginia Cowles offers a portrait gallery of the outstanding members of this incredible family — from Alexis (a Tartar in his wrath) and Peter the Great (a terrifying giant) to the nymphomaniac Catherine and the doomed Nicholas II, last of the Tsars. Their domination of Russia was brought to an end in March 1917, as a result of the February Revolution. Of the 65 family members, 18 were killed by the Bolsheviks and the remaining 47 were exiled abroad. Delving behind the mass of obscure and unfamiliar historical detail, she reveals the characters and personal ties behind these strange, and often daunting, figures. She looks beyond what is written about them in the history books and explores how their family lives and secrets affected the entirety of Russia and its many citizens. ‘Recounted at great speed, and with splendid life, vigour and readability’ – Antonia Fraser, Evening Standard Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE was a noted American journalist, biographer, and travel writer. During her long career, Cowles went from covering fashion, to covering the Spanish Civil War, the turbulent period in Europe leading up to World War II, and the entire war. After the war, she published a number of critically acclaimed biographies of historical figures. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Russia, Russian History, Royalty, Unfinished

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

(Harriet) Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE was a noted American journalist, biographer, and travel writer. During her long career, Cowles went from covering fashion, to covering the Spanish Civil War, the turbulent period in Europe leading up to World War II, and the entire war. Her service as a correspondent was recognized by the British government with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1947. After the war, she published a number of critically acclaimed biographies of historical figures. In 1983, while traveling with her husband in France, she was killed in an automobile accident near Biarritz.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is a innately fascinating subject, but every so often in the right set of hands it becomes entertaining as well. The stranger than fiction lives of Romanovs were done justice here in this terrific book chronicling the just over 300 years of their rule. I've read up on royalty before, it is a topic of interest, and yet these is something particularly mesmerizing about the Romanovs. Given absolute power over the largest country in the world was a heavy burden indeed and generation after generation they have shouldered it in the strangest of fashions. There is a distinct madness about their country, always has been and her rulers were shining examples of it. Almost exclusively megalomaniacal, debauched or alternatively ascetic, profligate or conscientiously parsimonious, moody, impetuous, wildly amorous, yet almost exclusively terribly romantic, fanatical and almost all consistently foul tempered, this family of autocratic despots were definitely one for the books. Because history conveniently repeats itself for anyone intelligent enough to recognize the patterns, one needs to go no further than a present day newspaper to see that the country actually hasn't changed all that much since the days of Romanovs. It is still essentially something of an autocracy driven by a zealot like nationalism, neither western nor eastern in values and ideas, unquestionably unique unhappy place of great potential and great melancholy. In other words, a place a real Romanov would recognize. Though I would imagine this book wouldn't find much audience over there, it isn't particularly flattering and quite amusingly biased. Not only will you find yourself thinking as a reader...what a bunch of dangerous lunatics, but you'll also get the impression the author was thinking the same thing writing this. Indeed, the personal lives of Romanovs get as much if not more attention as their political, civil and international accomplishments and snafus. Reading this book, one can easily get lost in the anecdotal quality of the lives of the rich and famous and forget that this is the dynasty that ruled over and conquered bringing into the fold an enormous part of the world. Although, in all fairness, they did manage some spectacular love affairs, most entertaining since Henry the VIII easily. And so whatever you may think of the Romanovs as sovereigns and leaders, you can't help but be fascinated, bewildered, possibly beguiled and definitely entertained by them as characters. This was a terrific book, as much fun as one can ever hope to have with nonfiction, edifying, interesting, humorous even. Highly recommended.

[GIANNA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to get any kind of knowledge and understanding about Russia's history. Not bad actually, since it's among my first non-fiction historical reads.
Learned a lot, but it took me A WHILE to read it, as it got boring sometimes. But I'll make sure to watch something based on this topic as to get more context for it.
Pretty good.

[anna ☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note to self: read more historical non-fiction!

I wanted to get more knowledgeable about the whole history of the Romanovs before diving into more specific non-fiction (namely: Catherine the Great and the famous Anastasia), and this book just served the purpose.

If you are interested in an in-depth coverage of this dynasty's feats though, this book might be not for you. I felt it to be too unbalanced sometimes, tackling some parts in great detail while rushing through others -- there are spans of decades summarised in just a few sentences.

Also, as someone who knew pre-WWI Russian history on a very superficial level, I think this book would have been much easier to read if accompanied by a family tree or at least a timeline between chapters. In all royal families there are certain names recurring generation after generation, and the Romanovs are no exception. After a while I found myself going back to check what Alexander or Catherina I was reading about.

Lastly, I was a little annoyed by the writing style. It repeatedly switched from a formal, detatched style to a more flourished and informal one. It's either one or the other, it just doesn't work really well if you mix the two.

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

How can a book be both interesting and boring?

The story was interesting but the telling was boring! Honestly, if there was any more filler it would have been ridiculous.

[Michael David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I brought this book for my girlfriend, who is an aficionado of the Romanovs. I had never looked into them beyond the cartoon caricatures of yesteryear, as I focused more on 20th century Russian history, from the deposition of Nicholas II to the rise of Josef Stalin. I didn’t expect to finish, seeing that the book is almost 300 pages, but Cowles wrote with clear and sapid prose that I managed to breeze through the well-curated work.

The history of the Romanovs seem to affirm the cyclical nature of history: it begins with a Michael, and ends with a Michael. Cowles provided an excellent survey of its rulers and wrote the longest chapters on its most remarkable members such as Peter, Catherine, and Alexander I.

They were all characters in their own right: Peter murdered his own son, Catherine was a nymphomaniac, and Alexander I murdered people for the sake of his religion, while being militaristic. Elizabeth, while also scheming, did promote the arts but was quite lascivious herself.

All of them were shaped by the violence of their time and succession and had peculiar foibles. Of them, I appreciated Alexander II the most. He was recognized as the liberator of serfs, but because they were uneducated, he had instead opened another can of worms. During his reign, however, liberalism had spread and grown and literary expression was fostered: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Gogol flourished during this period. He was, however, destroyed by the liberalism that he permitted and fostered as he would eventually be assassinated.

Ultimately, the Romanov dynasty would end in infamy as the entire family tree of Nicholas II would be exterminated even despite his abdication.

Rife with pictures, well-written, and an excellent survey, The Romanovs is a great read.

[Dona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this version from the publisher and the first thing I noticed was that it was published in 1971 and then republished in 2015. The edition I read was the 2015 version but I have no way of knowing if it was different from the 1971 version.

I’m a huge fan on anything referencing the Romanovs and have read many books about them. This book, however, read like a college text book. Lots and lots of historical facts but dry as a bone. If I were writing a paper on the history of the Romanovs in Russia this book would have provided a massive amount of information however I was reading it for entertainment as well as knowledge and it was far from entertaining. As a matter of fact I took it to bed with me and it was like taking a sleeping pill. In no time at all I was sound asleep, book slumped on my chest.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of the Romanov Reign in Russia

This book was not at all what I was expecting, which actually turned out to be a good thing. I thought I was purchasing a book about Czar Nicholas and his family, but actually got a history of how the Romanov 's came to power in Russia, how each of the various Czars lead (or didn't) lead their country, a lot of history about Catherine the Great, and up to and including the last Czar. It was an extremely interesting history and gave me an on-site on how Russia and to be the Communist hotbed that it was, and o some extent still is.
The writer fleshed out each of the characters very well and the book is well written. I would highly recommend this book to history buffs, especially those interested in Russian history.

[Lauryn hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched

A great historical book. I've read many books on the romanov dynasty and author's have a tendency to romanticize it all. Peter the great monstrous cruelty is often ignored, as is Catherine the greats vanity and hypocrisy. I found this book refreshing as it broadcasts those faults, but also tells all of the great achievements of these rulers. Equally portraying the flaws, human weakness and greatness of each.
Nicky and Alexandra(the last) were maybe slightly harshly written though, they made a hell of a lot of mistakes, but there was also a lot of goodness not included, maybe there just wasn't room for it all though.

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'e read books about many of the world's country's histories, even that of China, but Russia has been sadly a nation I never even thought to read about! Granted, this only covers the more recent years and the rule of the Romanovs, but even so, I found it an engaging and easy-going read, with characters who were people, not merely 'good' or 'bad' as the most well-meaning ancient sources tend to characterize rulers.
The rulers were all looked at with reference to their upbringing and a nod to the psychological damage that young people can be scarred with - mothers dying, dysfunctional homes, murderous attendants and parents and great parents and servants, complicated politic decisions made not on a whim, but with the anger or joy of the nobles taken into account - something which put Russia behind Europe when it came to serfdom and freedom.
Like any good story, there are obviously those who have been white- or black-washed by history, and many anecdotes which are patently untrue and just bizarre, only repeated, I'm sure, to give a little flavour to the stew.
All in all, though, I enjoyed this, and would love to dip deeper into history and discover the history of Russia right back to their Viking roots (oh yes, like Normandy, the Italian peninsula, England, Ireland, probably many of the middle eastern states (through the Varangian guard, the others of the same origin who settled and their offspring, surely making an impact over the passage of time and integration), as well as the Scandinavian countries, possibly parts of Northern Africa, Iceland, the Arctic Ocean's islands and Scotland, even Wales to a degree.... well, not sure there are any places these hardy adventurers didn't touch, tbh, and isn't it fascinating that a small part of the world could have ingratiated themselves so thoroughly in so large a part of the globe at a time when empire was a future innovation or an ancient experiment which died...
I do admire the Vikings, and the Scandinavian people, though due to their lack of written records and a mere smattering of songs and stories of Gods and Goddesses, we know almost nothing. Surely, though, the Russian contingent are much the same as any other: there were people of all shades of grey, and this book shows that. without acknowledging that rich heritage!
a great book, a wonderful read, well written and researched, and giving a thirst for more like any good read should, this is a great introduction or continuance to anyone interested in this amazingly colourful country.

[Jeanette Finan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book pieces together a credible story of what actually happened to the Romanov family and of how their remains were finally discovered after team after team of scientists, amateur archeologists, the KGB and just plain adventurers looking for their 15 minutes of fame spent fortunes and sometimes lifetimes searching for them.

It then goes on to describe the sickening in-fighting between teams of scientists and politicians from any country or region with even the most tenuous claim to have an interest in them fought over the bones. It was pretty disgusting and I was amazed how people with so much education could stoop so low. The few scientists who did have integrity were almost buried in the avalanche of mud and had to fight tooth and nail to protect their reputations. As I said, disgusting.

The second half of the book was pretty much devoted to Anna Anderson, the Polish peasant woman who was able to perpetrate such a long running and fairly creditable hoax for so long. I Her story was very good though and I guess it must be pretty easy to convince people who really want to be convinced of almost anything.

At the time this book was written the bones of the Romanov family were still laying in a morgue in Moscow while the Government fights over where and how to bury them. Sad!

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Readable History

Overall this book was quite interesting and kept my attention. It didn't bog down into too many dates, battles and boring administrative and political details as many histories do. This is quite accessible for the layman who is not an historical scholar. Initially it reminded me of an adult Horrible Histories as it seemed to focus on everyone's bad and barbaric qualities. It didnt leave much to admire about either Peter or Catherine the Great. If they accomplished much besides murder, drinking and sex, that seemed to be quite minimized. Makes you wonder why they were called Great. Things got more even handed by the time Nicholas I and the three Alexanders came along. I am not sure why the author felt the need to cater to the reader's prurient interests quite so much. I do feel the latter Czars got more thoroughly covered in terms of their personalities, ruling styles and contributions (or not). Many of the Romanovs were surprisingly reluctant at the time of their accession. One is left wondering how Russia maintained its size, integration and existence given the raging incompetence and egos of these people and the careless, cruel treatment of their millions of subjects.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative but mostly heavy going

The picture of Russia contained in these historical pages can easily be seen in today’s world. Proof that hundreds of years of war and bullying really does get us nowhere.
I cannot say that it is an enjoyable book, but it is informative and has resulted in me wishing to get to know St Petersburg and to visit the many palaces, gardens and buildings that still exist as modern day world heritage sites. With that in mind, I can say that the book was a worthwhile and successful read.

[Russell Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saw another reviewer describe it as “drier than dust”.

Gonna continue that trend:

“about as exciting as staring out the window with the curtains closed”

“You ever think, ‘Man, the Romanovs must have been super interesting!’ You might be right, but this book will try to prove you wrong”

“Reading this book is like having the ability to voluntarily give yourself a headache, it’s interesting, in a way, but why would you want to?”

“So dull and tedious I felt like I was really in Russia in the early 1900’s”

Pick any of the above.

[Amber Liermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐

Last of the Dynasties Series.

I've had a major obsession with the Romanovs ever since the #Anastasia movie came out in the mid 1990s. I've read so many books that were exclusively based on the Last Czars family.

This covered the entire 300 year reign of the Romanov family.

And being that I'm also a genealogical buff, I always chucked at the fact that *spoiler alert* Nicholas' family was just about all German and wasn't Russian at all.

[:) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snobbish, judgy, and simplistic. Misses no chance to disdain a ruler or their consort. Is alarmingly glad to call people imbeciles.
Also, considering this was published in 1971, I'm being picky, but in this author's mind, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich is a sadist, and somehow being a homosexual (and therefore a pervert) has something to do with that. All this while she denounces anti-Semitism ... might she check her own biases first?

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book especially if you know about Russian history, the revolution, and the USSR. It felt a bit long and I could have done without the pages and pages of descriptions about balls and high society. For all the details, the books spends almost mo time on the murders of Nicholas II and his family which was disappointing.

[Sheryl Wolford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read if you like history. I have always found the Romanovs interesting . This book gave better coverage of the entire lineage. I was surprised at the amount of mental illness there was in this family through the ages. It also puts the plight of the people into prospective from very early times.

[Gina Minard-Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Historical Review

This book was very educational, descriptive, and entertaining. At times it was harder to push through, but overall it was worth my time. At times it felt as if the author had an agenda against this family, which did irk me a bit, but sometimes they seemed to try to be balanced. I would recommend reading this if you're interested in the Romanovs.

[Marilyn McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good.

Probably the best history book I have ever read. All the facts told concisely with no padding or fancies!Before boredom has a chance to set in, Ms. Cowles has whisked you away to the next generation, watts and all. Most of the Romanovs seemed to be bonkers, so how they ever ruled is beyond me.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review

Interesting. I thought at first it would be more about the family of Tsar Nicholas, as that was the reason I began reading it at first and I also wanted to learn more about the history of Russia since I was never taught that in my history class

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on the Romanovs. It gave me a clearer understanding of what led Russia to the country it is today. My only problem was stumbling over the Russian names, understandable since I've never taken Russian. If you're a history buff like I am, this is a must read.

[Joseph Delcourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tragic story of a dynasty deeply enmeshed with Russia. Impossible to understand this vast country and people without reading this.
amazingly harsh, brutal and confused lineage that had such an impact on Europe's history, more for worse than for better!
great book!

[Linda Berger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Romanovs

This is a fast paced, very historical book with many details. You can see a lot of research was done and this tome is written in a way as not to lecture the reader but instruct.

[D Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but...

It was so hard to keep track of all the people in this book. Many of the chapters were painfully long. I think breaking up the history into shorter chunks would have helped.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Romanovs

A good book on the Romanovs from Virginia Cowles. A good and precise history of the Romanovs and the people of Russia.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed to focus more on the various immoral acts (murders, adulteries, etc) of this dynasty, and after awhile, it got tiresome.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good history book very informative but dry.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something of a gallop through 300 years of history. Very readable and a good introduction to a fascinating subject.
Limited as history but a good story, connecting many familiar events.

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a basic short history of the Russian tsars, that I found interesting. They were a nasty bunch, and piss-poor rulers for the most part, but they did love their wealth and power.

[Lewis Harkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

bought this because of history coursework. got to learn a lot about the tsars of the russian empire until their downfall later on.

overall pretty good read 9/10 perfect score