Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia
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Michael Farquhar. (2014). Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia. Random House Publishing Group.

Michael Farquhar. 2014. Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness From Romanov Russia. Random House Publishing Group.

Michael Farquhar, Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness From Romanov Russia. Random House Publishing Group, 2014.

Michael Farquhar. Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness From Romanov Russia. Random House Publishing Group, 2014.

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Secret Lives of the Tsars

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Secret Lives of the Tsars Three Centuries of Autocracy Debauchery Betrayal Murder and Madness from Romanov Russia

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Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia

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1. • value: Biography
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creators

1. • role: Author
   • fileAs: Farquhar, Michael
   • bioText: Michael Farquhar, a former writer and editor at The Washington Post, is the bestselling author of the critically praised Behind the Palace Doors, as well as the national bestsellers A Treasury of Royal Scandals, A Treasury of Great American Scandals, A Treasury of Deception, and A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans. His work has been featured in a number of national publications, and he has appeared as a commentator on such programs as History’s top-rated Russia: Land of the Tsars and The French Revolution.
   • name: Michael Farquhar

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Random House

publishDate

2014-07-08T00:00:00-04:00

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title

Secret Lives of the Tsars

fullDescription

“Michael Farquhar doesn’t write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris Kearns Goodwin’s smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it.”—Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist
 
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 endless 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 Lives of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia.
Praise for Secret Lives of the Tsars
 
“An accessible, exciting narrative . . . Highly recommended for generalists interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“An excellent condensed version of Russian history . . . a fine tale of history and scandal . . . sure to please general readers and monarchy buffs alike.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Tales from the nasty lives of global royalty . . . an easy-reading, lightweight history lesson.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Readers of this book may get a sense of why Russians are so tolerant of tyrants like Stalin and Putin. Given their history, it probably seems normal.”—The Washington Post

reviews

1. • premium: False
   • source: Library Journal (starred review)
   • content: "An accessible, exciting narrative . . . Highly recommended for generalists interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives."
2. • premium: False
   • source: Publishers Weekly
   • content: "An excellent condensed version of Russian history . . . a fine tale of history and scandal . . . sure to please general readers and monarchy buffs alike."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Kirkus Reviews
   • content: "Tales from the nasty lives of global royalty . . . an easy-reading, lightweight history lesson."
4. • premium: False
   • source: The Washington Post
   • content: "Readers of this book may get a sense of why Russians are so tolerant of tyrants like Stalin and Putin. Given their history, it probably seems normal."
5. • premium: False
   • source: Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist
   • content: "Michael Farquhar doesn't write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris Kearns Goodwin's smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it."
6. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     April 21, 2014
     Farquhar (Behind the Palace Doors) brings all the delightful faults and quirks of the famous Russian dynasts to the forefront while providing an excellent condensed version of Russian history. Working chronologically, Farquhar gives an informative snapshot of each generation in royal succession. Perhaps the title is a little misleading—there was nothing secret about much of the royal misbehavior, including Peter the Great’s (1696–1725) drinking and violence, Anna’s (1730–1740) “peculiar pleasures” (requiring noblemen to delight her by using them as her court jesters), and Catherine II’s (1762–1796) love affairs. While it is certainly true that the Romanov tsars are associated with the types of negative and deviant behavior alluded to in the subtitle, they are certainly not the only monarchs to exemplify these qualities. To single them out—and never really acknowledge their accomplishments adequately—seems somewhat disingenuous. Still, Farquhar weaves a fine tale of history and scandal, and it is sure to please general readers and monarchy buffs alike. Agent: Jenny Bent, Trident Media Group.

7. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     June 1, 2014
     More tales from the nasty lives of global royalty.Farquhar (Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treasury, and the Folly from Royal Britain, 2011, etc.) continues his chronicles of members of royal families and their strange, often reprehensible foibles, which demolished governments, lives and countries. This book, covering the horrors of Russia's 300 years of Romanov rule, concentrates on the totalitarian autocrats and their beastly reigns, during which they rewarded their favorites with thousands of serfs. Even great accomplishments, such as Peter the Great's navy and Westernization, are swept aside with stories of dictatorial actions such as his banning of beards and his personal torture of prisoners. Likewise, the author portrays Catherine the Great in light of her usurpation and the death of her husband, Peter III, as well as her long list of lovers. The book also tells the stories of the violence against the czars and their supporters, not least the multiple attempts on the life of Alexander II. It took a bomb to finally eliminate the man who actually freed the serfs. The czars who were not congenitally cruel and repressive, like Nicholas I, were certifiably mad or grossly ineffective. Farquhar devotes almost a third of the book to Nicholas and Alexandra, perhaps due to the fact there is so much material from which to choose. Nicholas was weak-willed, introverted and completely under the thumb of his despised wife. Both were under the spell of Rasputin, who claimed to heal their son Alexei's bouts with hemophilia. Alexandra's shyness was construed as pride and haughtiness, but she controlled Nicholas and his government to their desperate ends.An easy-reading, lightweight history lesson. Farquhar's tales of totalitarianism make one wonder if the secrets behind so many centuries of cruelty could be in the DNA.

     COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

8. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from August 1, 2014
     

     In a book that's more sordid lives than secret lives, Farquhar (Behind the Palace Doors) details the torture, murder, debauchery, and depravity that hallmarked the Romanov dynasty's 300-year reign (1613-1917). The author illuminates the lives of renowned Romanov rulers and their contributions to Russia, both good and bad, in an accessible, exciting narrative. Readers will gain insight into a nation governed by autocrats, slow to industrialize or modernize, and destined for revolution. Although the work offers intriguing details on the lives of each tsar, the author devotes the final three chapters entirely to Nicholas II, whose assassination in 1917 heralded the October Revolution. Pulling from both primary sources and the research of other Romanov biographers such as Robert K. Massie and Henri Troyat, this is certainly not the first volume to cover the entire dynasty. However, Farquhar, unlike other Romanov experts, is not a historian but rather a best-selling author of books on royal families and scandals. VERDICT Highly recommended for generalists interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives.--Leslie Lewis, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh

     Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity

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“Michael Farquhar doesn’t write about history the way, say, Doris Kearns Goodwin does. He writes about history the way Doris Kearns Goodwin’s smart-ass, reprobate kid brother might. I, for one, prefer it.”—Gene Weingarten, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist
 
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 endless 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...

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Secret Lives of the Tsars Three Centuries of Autocracy Debauchery Betrayal Murder and Madness from Romanov Russia

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Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia

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