From Splendor To Revolution

Author : Julia P. Gelardi
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1429990945
Total Pages : 548 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book From Splendor to Revolution written by Julia P. Gelardi and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2011-02-15 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sweeping saga recreates the extraordinary opulence and violence of Tsarist Russia as the shadow of revolution fell over the land, and destroyed a way of life for these Imperial women The early 1850s until the late 1920s marked a turbulent and significant era for Russia. During that time the country underwent a massive transformation, taking it from days of grandeur under the tsars to the chaos of revolution and the beginnings of the Soviet Union. At the center of all this tumult were four women of the Romanov dynasty. Marie Alexandrovna and Olga Constantinovna were born into the family, Russian Grand Duchesses at birth. Marie Feodorovna and Marie Pavlovna married into the dynasty, the former born a Princess of Denmark, the latter a Duchess of the German duchy of Mecklendburg-Schwerin. In From Splendor to Revolution, we watch these pampered aristocratic women fight for their lives as the cataclysm of war engulfs them. In a matter of a few short years, they fell from the pinnacle of wealth and power to the depths of danger, poverty, and exile. It is an unforgettable epic story.

Author : Julia P. Gelardi
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1429904550
Total Pages : 500 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Born to Rule written by Julia P. Gelardi and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Julia Gelardi's Born to Rule is an historical tour de force that weaves together the powerful and moving stories of the five royal granddaughters of Queen Victoria. These five women were all married to reigning European monarchs during the early part of the 20th century, and it was their reaction to the First World War that shaped the fate of a continent and the future of the modern world. Here are the stories of Alexandra, whose enduring love story, controversial faith in Rasputin, and tragic end have become the stuff of legend; Marie, the flamboyant and eccentric queen who battled her way through a life of intrigues and was also the mother of two Balkan queens and of the scandalous Carol II of Romania; Victoria Eugenie, Spain's very English queen who, like Alexandra, introduced hemophilia into her husband's family-with devastating consequences for her marriage; Maud, King Edward VII's daughter, who was independent Norway's reluctant queen; and Sophie, Kaiser Wilhelm II's much maligned sister, daughter of an Emperor and herself the mother of no less than three kings and a queen, who ended her days in bitter exile. Born to Rule evokes a world of luxury, wealth, and power in a bygone era, while also recounting the ordeals suffered by a unique group of royal women who at times faced poverty, exile, and death. Praised in their lifetimes for their legendary beauty, many of these women were also lauded-and reviled-for their political influence. Using never before published letters, memoirs, diplomatic documents, secondary sources, and interviews with descendents of the subjects, Julia Gelardi's Born to Rule is an astonishing and memorable work of popular history.

Author : Feliks Feliksovich I︠U︡supov (kni︠a︡zʹ)
Publisher : Helen Marx Books
ISBN 13 : 9781885586582
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Lost Splendor written by Feliks Feliksovich I︠U︡supov (kni︠a︡zʹ) and published by Helen Marx Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rasputin's is one of the most famous deaths in history. Now, his assassin's thrilling memoir is finally back in print. Born to great riches in the days before the Russian Revolution, and married to the niece of Czar Nicholas II, Prince Felix Youssoupoff observed at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. In 1916, Prince Felix and several aristocratic cohorts killed Rasputin, which more than any other single event brought about the cataclysmic upheaval of Tsarist Russia.

Author : C. W. Gortner
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0425286185
Total Pages : 466 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Romanov Empress written by C. W. Gortner and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For readers of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir comes a dramatic novel of the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish princess who became the mother of the last Russian tsar. “This epic tale is captivating and beautifully told.”—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours Barely nineteen, Minnie knows that her station in life as a Danish princess is to leave her family and enter into a royal marriage—as her older sister Alix has done, moving to England to wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son. The winds of fortune bring Minnie to Russia, where she marries the Romanov heir, Alexander, and once he ascends the throne, becomes empress. When resistance to his reign strikes at the heart of her family and the tsar sets out to crush all who oppose him, Minnie—now called Maria—must tread a perilous path of compromise in a country she has come to love. Her husband’s death leaves their son Nicholas as the inexperienced ruler of a deeply divided and crumbling empire. Determined to guide him to reforms that will bring Russia into the modern age, Maria faces implacable opposition from Nicholas’s strong-willed wife, Alexandra, whose fervor has led her into a disturbing relationship with a mystic named Rasputin. As the unstoppable wave of revolution rises anew to engulf Russia, Maria will face her most dangerous challenge and her greatest heartache. From the opulent palaces of St. Petersburg and the intrigue-laced salons of the aristocracy to the World War I battlefields and the bloodied countryside occupied by the Bolsheviks, C. W. Gortner sweeps us into the anarchic fall of an empire and the complex, bold heart of the woman who tried to save it. Praise for The Romanov Empress “Timely . . . [Gortner’s] ability to weave what reads as a simple tale from such complex historical and familial storylines is impressive. . . . Maria’s life as a royal reads like a historical soap opera.”—USA Today “Gortner, an experienced hand at recreating the unique aura of a particular time and place, will deftly sweep historical-fictions fans into this glamorous, turbulent, and ultimately tragic chapter in history.”—Booklist (starred review) “Mesmerizing . . . This insightful first-person account of the downfall of the Romanov rule . . . is the powerful story of a mother trying to save her family and an aristocrat fighting to maintain rule in a country of rebellion.”—Publishers Weekly “A twist on the tragic story you’ve heard many times before.”—Bustle

Author : Julia P. Gelardi
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1466823682
Total Pages : 672 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book In Triumph's Wake written by Julia P. Gelardi and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2009-12-08 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The powerful and moving story of three royal mothers whose quest for power led to the downfall of their daughters. Queen Isabella of Castile, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and Queen Victoria of England were respected and admired rulers whose legacies continue to be felt today. Their daughters—Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England; Queen Marie Antoinette of France; and Vicky, the Empress Frederick of Germany—are equally legendary for the tragedies that befell them, their roles in history surpassed by their triumphant mothers. In Triumph's Wake is the first book to bring together the poignant stories of these mothers and daughters in a single narrative. Isabella of Castile forged a united Spain and presided over the discovery of the New World, Maria Theresa defeated her male rivals to claim the Imperial Crown, and Victoria presided over the British Empire. But, because of their ambition and political machinations, each mother pushed her daughter toward a marital alliance that resulted in disaster. Catherine of Aragon was cruelly abandoned by Henry VIII who cast her aside in search of a male heir and tore England away from the Pope. Marie Antoinette lost her head on the guillotine when France exploded into Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Vicky died grief-stricken, horrified at her inability to prevent her son, Kaiser Wilhelm, from setting Germany on a belligerent trajectory that eventually led to war. Exhaustively researched and utterly compelling, In Triumph's Wake is the story of three unusually strong women and the devastating consequences their decisions had on the lives of their equally extraordinary daughters.

Author : Darko Suvin
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004325212
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.10/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Splendour, Misery, and Possibilities written by Darko Suvin and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-06-27 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Darko Suvin’s ‘X-Ray’ of Socialist Yugoslavia offers an indispensable overview of a unique and often overlooked twentieth-century socialism.

Author : John Blofeld
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 1570626375
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.71/5 ( download)

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Download or read book City of Lingering Splendor written by John Blofeld and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2001-05-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his early twenties, John Blofeld spent what he describes as "three exquisitely happy years" in Peking during the era of the last emperor, when the breathtaking greatness of China's ancient traditions was still everywhere evident. Arriving in 1934, he found a city imbued with the atmosphere of the recent imperial past and haunted by the powerful spirit of the late Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi. He entered a world of magnificent palaces and temples of the Forbidden City, of lotus-covered lakes and lush pleasure-gardens, of bustling bazaars and peaceful bathhouses, and of "flower houses" with their beautiful young courtesans versed in the arts of pleasing men. With a novelists' command of detail and dialogue, Blofeld vividly re-creates the magic of these years and conveys to the reader his appreciation and nostalgia for a way of life long vanished.

Author : Juliet Grey
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 034552389X
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow written by Juliet Grey and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A captivating novel of rich spectacle and royal scandal, Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow spans fifteen years in the fateful reign of Marie Antoinette, France’s most legendary and notorious queen. Paris, 1774. At the tender age of eighteen, Marie Antoinette ascends to the French throne alongside her husband, Louis XVI. But behind the extravagance of the young queen’s elaborate silk gowns and dizzyingly high coiffures, she harbors deeper fears for her future and that of the Bourbon dynasty. From the early growing pains of marriage to the joy of conceiving a child, from her passion for Swedish military attaché Axel von Fersen to the devastating Affair of the Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette tries to rise above the gossip and rivalries that encircle her. But as revolution blossoms in America, a much larger threat looms beyond the gilded gates of Versailles—one that could sweep away the French monarchy forever.

Author : Robert McNeal
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780472751778
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bride of the Revolution written by Robert McNeal and published by . This book was released on 2016-10-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some four years after the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov in the splendor of the Kremlin, two obscure political convicts--Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) and Nadezhda Krupskaya--were married in Siberia. Twenty years later Lenin and Krupskaya were themselves living in the Kremlin, and the royal Romanovs had been shot by Lenin's police. This book re-creates for the first time the full story of the devoted and determined woman who married the greatest among European revolutionary leaders. Krupskaya's marriage was remarkable in many ways. It began with Lenin's ambiguous proposal smuggled into her jail cell, and ended in the intrigue of succession as Lenin lay dying. From close political collaboration during the early emigrant years of the Bolshevik Party, to her role in the long-suppressed story of Lenin's affair with Inessa Armand, Krupskaya proved herself a loyal bride of the revolution. Yet Krupskaya in her own right comes alive in these pages--as a youthful Tolstoyan; as an advocate of progressive education and the liberation of women; as chief cryptologist, secretary, and paymaster for the tiny network of revolutionaries; as an ultimately tragic figure, struggling to defend her husband's legacy against the machinations of Joseph Stalin. Nadezhda Krupskaya has long been revered in Russia as the greatest woman of the Communist era, yet no Soviet writer has dared to write frankly of her fascinating and turbulent life. In this book--based on extensive research in Soviet publications as well as Tsarist and Trotskyan archive materials--the author has succeeded in unraveling many of the enigmas of Krupskaya's biography, and has provided often intimate and very human glimpses of her famous relationship with Lenin. Here, for the first time, Krupskaya at last takes her place as a great figure of the modern age.

Author : Victoria Johnson
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226401952
Total Pages : 307 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Backstage at the Revolution written by Victoria Johnson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On July 14, 1789, a crowd of angry French citizens en route to the Bastille broke into the Paris Opera and helped themselves to any sturdy weapon they could find. Yet despite its long association with the royal court, its special privileges, and the splendor of its performances, the Opera itself was spared, even protected, by Revolutionary officials. Victoria Johnson’s Backstage at the Revolution tells the story of how this legendary opera house, despite being a lightning rod for charges of tyranny and waste, weathered the most dramatic political upheaval in European history. Sifting through royal edicts, private letters, and Revolutionary records of all kinds, Johnson uncovers the roots of the Opera’s survival in its identity as a uniquely privileged icon of French culture—an identity established by the conditions of its founding one hundred years earlier under Louis XIV. Johnson’s rich cultural history moves between both epochs, taking readers backstage to see how a motley crew of singers, dancers, royal ministers, poet entrepreneurs, shady managers, and the king of France all played a part in the creation and preservation of one of the world’s most fabled cultural institutions.