Lost Splendor: The Amazing Memoirs of the Man Who Killed Rasputin

by Felix Yusupov

The fascinating first-person account of the cross-dressing prince who poisoned Rasputin with rose cream cakes laced with cyanide and spiked Madeira is now back in print. Originally published in France in 1952, during the years of Prince Youssoupoff's exile from Russia, Lost Splendor has all the excitement of a thriller. Born to great riches, lord of vast feudal estates and many palaces, Felix Youssoupoff led the life of a grand seigneur in the days before the Russian Revolution. Married to the niece of Czar Nicholas II, he could observe at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. Finally, impelled by patriotism and his love for the Romanoff dynasty, which he felt was in danger of destroying itself and Russia, he killed Rasputin in 1916 with the help of the Grand Duke Dimitri and others. More than any other single event, this deed helped to bring about the cataclysmic upheaval that ended in the advent of the Soviet regime.~The author describes the luxury and glamour of his upbringing, fantastic episodes at nightclubs and with the gypsies in St. Petersburg, grand tours of Europe, dabbling in spiritualism and occultism, and an occasional conscience-stricken attempt to alleviate the lot of the poor.~Prince Youssoupoff was an aristocrat of character. When the moment for action came, when the monk's evil influence over the czar and czarina became unbearable, he and his friends decided that they must get rid of the monster. He tells how Rasputin courted him and tried to hypnotize him, and how finally they decoyed him to the basement of the prince's palace. Prince Youssoupoff...is perfectly objective, remarkably modern and as accurate as human fallibility allows. His book is therefore readable, of historical value and intimately tragic. It is as if Count Fersen had written a detailed account of the last years of Marie Antoinette. --Harold Nicholson, on the first English edition, 1955 By Prince Felix Youssoupoff. Hardcover, 5.25 x 8.25 in./300 pgs / 0 color 14 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20143

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Biography, Memoir, Historical, Biography Memoir

Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, was a Russian aristocrat, a prince and count, best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin.

Reviews

[Angel Sanabria]

Publicado en español con el título de "El asesinato de Rasputín", es un relato trepidante, con un buen ritmo de suspenso y lleno de dramatismo; es la crónica a sangre fría de un magnicidio que aún sigue dando mucho qué hablar; la confesión del asesino aristócrata que acabó con la sombría figura de Grigori Rasputín, quien puede ser considerado el monje más misterioso de la historia, y el cual fue una pieza clave en la bisagra que abrió la puerta a un nuevo imperio: la URSS. Pocos libros existen que describen un magno asesinato contado por el autor intelectual y material del crimen, este es uno que vale la pena leerse, y de cuyo impacto no puede uno sustraerse.