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A review by bunnieslikediamonds
The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
5.0
The Romanovs make the Lannisters look like the Bennett sisters. Simon Sebag Montefiore does his best to avoid speculation and sensationalism, but not even his sober outlook and academic restraint can quench the glorious madness that was the Romanov rule. THE MAYHEM. People are not only shot or beheaded, as one would expect, but imaginatively tortured, broken on the wheel, impaled in the bottom, cut into sections, stomped to pulp, doused in vodka and set on fire. Cut into sections. That requires dedication. On a good day you only get your tongue ripped out. Then there are the courtly intrigues and sexual shenanigans. The corridors of the Winter Palace are teeming with mistresses, assassins and false Dimitris. Nitroglycerin is stored under pillows. Heirs have fits and conveniently fall on their daggers. Brides-to-be are poisoned so often you'd think that they'd wise up and look for husbands elsewhere.
Of course, there is more to this work than colourful anecdotes, but where's the fun in war and politics? Only half kidding. 300 years are crammed into 650 pages, which eventually made me lose track of the bit players and their political motivations and animosities. Which was ok, because I was able to lean back and enjoy the tsar mania, but if you would like a deeper understanding of Russian history, you need further reading. This book tells the history of the Romanovs, and does it wonderfully.
Of course, there is more to this work than colourful anecdotes, but where's the fun in war and politics? Only half kidding. 300 years are crammed into 650 pages, which eventually made me lose track of the bit players and their political motivations and animosities. Which was ok, because I was able to lean back and enjoy the tsar mania, but if you would like a deeper understanding of Russian history, you need further reading. This book tells the history of the Romanovs, and does it wonderfully.