Imperial Crimea: Estates, Enchantments and the Last of the Romanovs

by Coryne Hall, Penny Wilson, Sue Woolmans

Imperial Estates, Enchantment and the Last of the Romanovs offers the most comprehensive account of Russia’s Imperial Family and its ties to the Crimea available in English. The book draws on both published works and on unpublished sources, including German diplomatic reports on Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; the unpublished memoirs of tutor Charles Sidney Gibbes; private letters by members of the Imperial Family; and correspondence and materials from Broadlands Archives; The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; The Mainau Archives; the Staatsarchiv, Darmstadt; the State Archives of the Russian Federation; and the State Public Library, Russian National Library Collection, in St. Petersburg. Encompassing travelogue, Tartar history, Russian conquest and the flowering of the peninsula under Romanov rule, Imperial Crimea takes readers on a Turn of the Century tour of the peninsula through the eyes of tourists; follows the Imperial Family from Nicholas I to Nicholas II; explores the diverse array of palaces dotting the edge of the Black Sea; and concludes with the 1919 departure of Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna and other Romanovs from the Crimea.

Genres: Nonfiction, Russia, Romanovs, History

780 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 8, 2018

About the author

Coryne Hall is an historian, broadcaster and consultant specialising in the Romanovs and British and European royalty. She was born in Ealing, West London and developed a fascination for Imperial Russia in childhood when she learnt that her great-grandmother was born in St Petersburg, an almost exact contemporary of Nicholas II. The author of six books, she is a regular contributor to Majesty magazine, The European Royal History Journal, Royal Russia, Sovereign and Royalty Digest Quarterly. She acted as consultant on the Danish television documentaries “A Royal Family” and “The Royal Jewels.”
Coryne has lectured at royalty conferences in England, Denmark, Russia and America. Her media appearances include Woman’s Hour, BBC South Today, the documentaries “Russia’s Lost Princesses” and "13 Moments of Fate", live coverage of Charles and Camilla’s wedding for Canadian television and co-hosting live coverage of Prince William’s wedding alongside John Moore for Newstalk 1010, Canada. She was also the last person to have a private audience with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She lives in Hampshire.

Reviews

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this more than 700 page book of articles about the last Romanovs and their Crimean Palaces. Imperial Crimea discusses both the architecture of the palaces and the lives of the Emperors and Empresses, Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses who lived there. Most of the articles examine an individual palace but there are multiple articles devoted to the Imperial estate of Livadia and its development during the reigns of Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II. There are also chapters concerning the history of the Crimea, the career of the architect Nikolai Krasnov and a fascinating profile of the Emir of Bukhara (now Uzbekistan) who was a frequent visitor to Livadia. The evacuation of Czar Nicholas II's mother, Dowager Empress Marie and other members of the Romanov extended family from the Crimea in 1919 receives extensive analysis in the final chapters.

The book would have been enhanced by the inclusion of supplementary material such as maps, family trees, photographs and palace floor plans. There are also a few tired stereotypes included about the upbringing of the five children of Czar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. Their daughters are described as being "raised in isolation" but the whirlwind of balls, luncheons, excursions and charity bazaars described in the book suggest that they enjoyed a varied social life during their Crimean holidays.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Romanovs, and the history of Russia.