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Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia Paperback – July 8, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Farquhar brings all the delightful faults and quirks of the famous Russian dynasts to the forefront while providing an excellent condensed version of Russian history." --Publishers Weekly
"An accessible, exciting narrative....Highly recommended interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives " --Library Journal (starred review)
"Imperial Russia was never so entertaining as in the hands of royalty expert and breezy storyteller Farquhar." --The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
"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
"Michael Farquhar finds more than a few instances of misbehavior and villainy.... But there's more here than just the sordid." --Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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
Praise for Michael Farquhar
“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
"An accessible, exciting narrative....Highly recommended interested in Russian history and those who enjoy the seamier side of past lives " --Library Journal (starred review)
"Imperial Russia was never so entertaining as in the hands of royalty expert and breezy storyteller Farquhar." --The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
"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
"Michael Farquhar finds more than a few instances of misbehavior and villainy.... But there's more here than just the sordid." --Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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
Praise for Michael Farquhar
“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
About the Author
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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
Elspeth G. Perkin
on July 8, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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I don't know about you, but there is just something so magnetic about the name Romanov. For me, it conjures visions of opulence, Orthodox traditions, conspiracies, enduring mysteries and of course cursed tragedy and when I saw this title trumpeting the salacious tales from behind the doors of the House of Romanov and infamous deeds of less than royal behavior I just had read this and I am very happy with my choice. Here is a title I am excited to recommend not only for the interests it will spark in anyone with a passing curiosity in Russian history but it pulls the glittering jewels and powerful titles away and reveals human behavior (of course a lot of those are debatable) and the absurd antics that who are we kidding ourselves are just fun to read.
Mr. Farquhar has created an entertaining compulsory read that condenses 300 years of the lives of Russian rulers ranging from Ivan IV Vasilyevich (better known as Ivan The Terrible) to Nikolai (Nicholas II) Alexandrovich Romanov and presents the italicized names from history to the reader in an easy to understand lesson with details of the some of the most peculiar stories about royals you may hear and even throws in some final serious pages that hold vivid accounts of one of the main reasons the name Romanov is now synonymous with historic tragedy.Read more ›
Mr. Farquhar has created an entertaining compulsory read that condenses 300 years of the lives of Russian rulers ranging from Ivan IV Vasilyevich (better known as Ivan The Terrible) to Nikolai (Nicholas II) Alexandrovich Romanov and presents the italicized names from history to the reader in an easy to understand lesson with details of the some of the most peculiar stories about royals you may hear and even throws in some final serious pages that hold vivid accounts of one of the main reasons the name Romanov is now synonymous with historic tragedy.Read more ›
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
TheSkepticalReader
on August 3, 2014
Format: Paperback
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I primarily wanted to read this book because I have very limited knowledge of Russian history prior to World War II and the rise of Communism. I was a bit concerned that I would have to look up a lot of people, places, and terms since this book is discussing “secret” lives of the Tsars but surprisingly, I didn’t have to use any outside sources to follow through with the book.
Secret Lives of the Tsars works both as a book that people with some general knowledge about Russian history can explore as well as a “starter’s guide” for people such as myself who can thoroughly enjoy the book without getting lost in the midst of all the information. Secret Lives of the Tsars chronologically details the lives of the Russian rulers beginning from 17th century to the early twentieth century. Though I definitely think there is a lot more history to be discussed and studied, I think this book works really well as an interesting beginner’s guide for all readers. There are certain history books that appeal only to those who are thorough devotees of history or who are historians (or politicians) themselves but this book can be loved by all, in my opinion.
Farquhar uses a really simple style of writing that is easy to follow and understand. Again, when discussing a book such as this, I think it’s important to discuss what type of demographics it is targeting and the use of common vocabulary is another level that will attract the everyday reader to learn more than what public education in American schools have taught us.Read more ›
Secret Lives of the Tsars works both as a book that people with some general knowledge about Russian history can explore as well as a “starter’s guide” for people such as myself who can thoroughly enjoy the book without getting lost in the midst of all the information. Secret Lives of the Tsars chronologically details the lives of the Russian rulers beginning from 17th century to the early twentieth century. Though I definitely think there is a lot more history to be discussed and studied, I think this book works really well as an interesting beginner’s guide for all readers. There are certain history books that appeal only to those who are thorough devotees of history or who are historians (or politicians) themselves but this book can be loved by all, in my opinion.
Farquhar uses a really simple style of writing that is easy to follow and understand. Again, when discussing a book such as this, I think it’s important to discuss what type of demographics it is targeting and the use of common vocabulary is another level that will attract the everyday reader to learn more than what public education in American schools have taught us.Read more ›
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Steven A. Peterson
TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on July 25, 2014
Format: Paperback
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A shallow but enjoyable read. If you want a bon bon that is a quick read, this would rate more than 3 stars. However, I prefer something a bit more intellectually rewarding. So, how you rate this book depends on what you want. A fun read without much depth? High rating. A fun book that is pretty shallow? Noty so much.
The book is well written. It is a good read, and the writing style propels the volume forward as one reads it.
Substantively? For on thing, it is rather titillating, emphasizing affairs, mistresses, and the like. This is part of reality, so this is worthy of coverage. But the coverage really deflects the focus on the Romanov dynasty and its, frankly, mediocrity. In power for over 300 years, there were more misses than hits. Peter the Great and Catherine the Great had major impacts on Russia's role in the world. With many others? Not really.
The arc of the work goes from the origins of the Romanov dynasty to its end during World War I, with Czar Nicholas II and his family being destroyed. The latter family and its relationshop to Rasputin is discussed in some detail. Again, salacious details tend to dominate.
So, overall, a nice work--especially if one is not interested in a detailed discussion of the politics and history of the time.
The book is well written. It is a good read, and the writing style propels the volume forward as one reads it.
Substantively? For on thing, it is rather titillating, emphasizing affairs, mistresses, and the like. This is part of reality, so this is worthy of coverage. But the coverage really deflects the focus on the Romanov dynasty and its, frankly, mediocrity. In power for over 300 years, there were more misses than hits. Peter the Great and Catherine the Great had major impacts on Russia's role in the world. With many others? Not really.
The arc of the work goes from the origins of the Romanov dynasty to its end during World War I, with Czar Nicholas II and his family being destroyed. The latter family and its relationshop to Rasputin is discussed in some detail. Again, salacious details tend to dominate.
So, overall, a nice work--especially if one is not interested in a detailed discussion of the politics and history of the time.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Raphael E. Yalden II
on July 17, 2014
Format: Paperback
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Over the years I have read of the Russian Tsars mostly via authors Robert K. Massie and W. Bruce Lincoln. I still learned and relearned much from Farquhar's work. Secret Lives is very well written and organized. I looked forward to picking it up every day while reading it. I highly recommend this book to new readers of the Romanov Tsars and to veteran readers who want a readable overall summary of the topic. The book was a page turner for me from start to finish. My only criticism of this joy of a book is that it does not include an index.
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