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The Romanovs

The Story of Russia and its Empire 1613-1918

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The Romanovs

By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
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About this listen

 The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. 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 twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. 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, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy, from Queen Victoria to Lenin.

To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six tsars were murdered and all the Romanovs lived under constant threat to their lives. 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 afterwards - loved her young male favourites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who 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 written by a ruler. THE ROMANOVS climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family.

Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling story of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.

Read by Simon Russell Beale

(p) 2016 Orion Publishing Group©2016 Simon Sebag Montefiore Europe Historical Politics & Activism Royalty Russia War Imperialism Soviet Union Emotionally Gripping Military Middle Ages Imperial Japan Socialism Roosevelt Family Interwar Period

Critic reviews

'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)
'Captivating . . . The story of the Romanovs has been told countless times but never with such a compelling combination of literary flair, narrative drive, solid research and psychological insight. The Romanovs covers it all, from war and diplomacy to institution building and court intrigue, but it is chiefly an intimate portrait that brings to life the twenty sovereigns of Russia in vivid fashion . . . Montefiore writes with subtlety and sophistication about the nature of court life, the dynamics of power and the shifting configurations of the various players' (Douglas Smith)
'Don't let its size fool you:There's never been a more inviting 700-plus-page historical tome. That's because the author, who matches rigorous scholarship with a novelist's eye for delicious details, is clearly having so much fun. And why not? In three centuries, the Romanovs produced titans and weaklings, war and peace, and enough salacious behavior to make us say, "Turn off thy Kardashians! Pick up thy Montefiore!"' (Oprah Winfrey)
'Montefiore has an eye for the telling detail which lifts an unfamiliar narrative. His mammoth history of Russia's royal dynasty features many such vivid, amusing and surprising particulars. Indeed it is startlingly lubricious and gory . . . Gore and sex aside, the author's pen produces reams of fluent, sometimes sparkling prose. Many of his reflections on the Romanov era apply well to Vladimir Putin's domains now . . . The Russian court was an entrepot of power: its role as a broker allowed participants to amass wealth and bonded them in shared loyalty. But it also allowed them to compete without resorting to civil war or revolution. That sounds pretty much like the modern Kremlin'
All stars
Most relevant

What made the experience of listening to The Romanovs: 1613-1918 the most enjoyable?

the subject is amazing. How could people endure this sytem so long.

What did you like best about this story?

a detailed view into the less glorious habits and most basic instinct of the Russian people of the time. Fascinating but not really important for someone intersted in the history of the time.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

more than matched, went too quicly for such a story

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Disgust

Any additional comments?

I did not expect this from Sebag Montefiore, after all his other books. The reader was much too quick; I think that the audiobook would be more convincing if the reader was to pause more often. Possibly he did not do justice to the author.

just an executive summary of an amazing period

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This is a wonderful evocation of the life of the Russian courts in a three hundred year period. It is thoroughly researched and documented but told in a very accessible manner that said there is so much detail that it would be hard to content oneself with just one reading. I found the narrator to be marvellous because he tells the story in a neutral way which is perfect.
Through reading this book it dawned on me that Stalin was far more impregnanted by his culture of tsarism in his actions than that of Marx - secret police, autocracy, purges, promulgation of the self as Father of the People, drinking bouts, indifference to mass starvation or privations, censorship of the press, Siberian exile and so on. I had already read the author's excellent book on Stalin and now I can't wait to read his book on Jerusalem.

Splendid overview of tsarist Russia

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Good book but told me nothing new - expected more uncovered history but so well written!!

Good solid book

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it's a long listen but broken out by each Tsar and becomes a lot more detailed as we progress through history. it is a interesting topic with the subject switching from politics to debauchery quite often but serves to highlight how Putinism isn't an abboration but rather a return to the norm for Russia.

great book and relevent to Russia today.

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Very informative and covers a wide range of Russian history, however there were areas that could've been explained a bit more; names and people were introduced with context following much later. I enjoyed the performance and thought it was approached very well overall. Looking forward to Montefiore's next book on Stalin.

Very informative but areas needed more detail

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