Larissa Jermilowa

The subject of Nicholas the Second and his family has always fascinated me and generally I like nothing better than a big juicy book full of photographs detailing the last years of Romanov rule.

It does not take much to make me happy, but this book failed. For starters, there were too many pages of background on previous Tsars, from Alexander onwards: at least a third of the book was devoted to a subject other than Nicholas.
The photographs were not that well chosen - too grand and not personal enough, and the caption information was minimal and poorly presented.
The text too was a let-down: while not necessarily wanted a tabloid-type biography, a little sensation and levity would have been a welcome relief in this dry and dreary account.… (more)