The Last Tsar and Tsarina

by Virginia Cowles

Praise for Virgina Cowles

‘Splendidly readable’ The Sunday Times

March 1917.

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, is forced to abdicate the throne. Sixteen months later he and his family are viciously murdered by Bolshevik provocateurs under mysterious circumstances.

Though more than a century has passed since these events, the tragic history of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna continues to captivate readers.

In The Last Tsar & Tsarina, Virginia Cowles offers a thrilling account of the ruler who never desired to wear the crown and the Germanic wife who pushed him to become his own man.

From his childhood and indoctrination, to his marriage, coronation and murder, the life of Russia's most stoic tsar was guided by circumstances largely beyond his control.

Although a devoted husband and father, Nicholas II proved to be a flawed statesman.

His reign was a disastrous and bloody affair.

Death awaited Nicholas and Alexandra in the chaos of the October Revolution. As the world around her began to crumble the Tsarina wrote: ‘Our souls are at peace. Whatever happens will be through God’s Will.’

But did the royal couple deserve such a brutal fate?

Virginia Cowles depicts the story as a great unfolding tragedy, for both Russia and its rulers, with a cast list including Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and Rasputin.

Recommended for fans of Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Orlando Figes and Robert Service.

Praise for Virgina Cowles

’One of the most delightful books I have read. Miss Cowles has given us a tour-de-force, well researched, comprehensive, frank … [it] abounds in amazing stories of extraordinary personalities’ Books and Bookmen

Virginia Cowles (1912-83) was a renowned American journalist and biographer of historical figures, including Winston Churchill and David Stirling, a founding member of the SAS. Initially covering fashion and society, Cowles made the transition to war correspondent, covering first the Spanish Civil War and then the Second World War, reporting from all over Europe, her service in this was recognised by the British with an OBE in 1947.

Genres: History, Russian History, Russia, Nonfiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1979

About the author

(Harriet) Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE was a noted American journalist, biographer, and travel writer. During her long career, Cowles went from covering fashion, to covering the Spanish Civil War, the turbulent period in Europe leading up to World War II, and the entire war. Her service as a correspondent was recognized by the British government with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1947. After the war, she published a number of critically acclaimed biographies of historical figures. In 1983, while traveling with her husband in France, she was killed in an automobile accident near Biarritz.

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who is new to learning about WWI/Cold War history, I actually enjoyed Cowle's book. I felt that it did a decent job giving a general overview of the last tsar and tsarina of Russia. However, I felt like the book could have gone more into Nicholas and Alexandra's life in more detail. I also wanted to learn more about their daughters since there was so much focus on Alexis. I am rating this book 4 stars because I felt like it was easy to follow and clarified some important figures during the tsar's regime that were confusing to understand in another book that I read related to the tsar and tsarina.

[Lauryn Smith du Toit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Russia. Its architecture is beautiful, its culture fascinating, its people vogueish, its history unique. I recently returned from a trip to Moscow, and wow. The country is just incredible. To supplement my research prior to travel, I borrowed my dad’s first edition copy of “The Last Tsar,” also known as “The Last Tsar and Tsarina,” by Virginia Cowles. (His copy happens to be stuffed with a handful of newspaper clippings, all of which relate in one way or another to the notorious Romanovs. Borrowing old books is so much fun).

As the book’s title implies, “The Last Tsar” is the nonfiction account of Tsar Nicholas II, the final Russian Emperor. Until 1917, tsars were the supreme rulers of Russia. (The term “tsar” derives from the Latin word for “Caesar,” or emperor.) Nicholas began his reign in 1894, and he was forced to abdicate in 1917. The following year, he and his immediate family were unceremoniously killed en masse by the Bolsheviks. Cowles outlines the events that led to the end of imperial rule and the unfortunate fate of Nicholas, and she does so in a way that is both thorough and comprehensible.

Cowles elucidates Nicholas’s character, as well as that of his wife, the German-born Alexandra Feodorovna. The couple, we learn, unfalteringly believed that their rule was a God-given right. Alexandra had great influence on Nicholas and his policies, and the infamous Grigori Rasputin had great influence on Alexandra. Nicholas possessed a warm, timid personality, especially toward Alexandra and their five children. However, he was christened “Bloody Nicholas” by the Russian people, who derided his dependence on Alexandra’s input, his inept leadership and his role in thrusting Russia into a state of war and violence.

Cowles does well to intermingle details of political significance with others pertaining to the royal family. She relates the anxiety that arose when Tsarevich Alexei, Nicholas’s youngest child and only son, suffered painful bouts resulting from his affliction with hemophilia. She illustrates the perceived ignorance of Nicholas’s four daughters. She even covers the details of Rasputin’s murder, its cover-up and Alexandra’s subsequent distress. Cowles mounts chronological evidence of varying sorts that culminate in a concluding exposition of the February Revolution and its immediate aftermath.

Reading about the political saga of a country can be tough, particularly for those who are not history buffs. I myself am not typically drawn to such literature, at least not on a regular basis, but I completely enjoyed “The Last Tsar.” Cowles focuses on a subject that is innately interesting...

Visit Book Nook Reviews to read my full review of Virginia Cowles's "The Last Tsar." Happy reading! http://booknookrevs.com/nook/-review-...

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always discover things I did not know, or come to understand something that had previously escaped me, in every book and memoir I read about the fall of the Romanovs. It is an endlessly fascinating subject.

[Bridget's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've only known the story of the Romanovs inthe cartoon Anastasia. Sad, I know. So, I decided to read this history. This book completely obliterated any romantic notions of the family. I had no clue of the true history. I am glad I read this.

[Terrence Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author knows her subject. I enjoyed learning more about this period of Russian history,easy to read and interesting.

[Manny Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

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