The court of the last tsar Pomp, power, and pageantry in the reign of Nicholas II

Well-known for several popular histories of late Romanov Russia, including his book coauthored with Penny Wilson (The Fate of the Romanovs, CH, Apr'04, 41-4830), independent biographer King presents a description of court life at St. Petersburg from the 1894 accession of Nicholas II to 1914. Beginning with the second sentence of the introductory author's note, where King confuses the derivation of the word "tsar" with its archaic meaning, specialists will find numerous details begging for correction. The author must have relied on seriously outdated secondary sources, because inconsistencies and archaisms in transliteration are common, especially in passages lacking documentation. The general impression of court life rings true, however, and six useful appendixes and an extensive, albeit incomplete bibliography serve to guide readers through the imperial palaces and hierarchies. King's color plates are excellent, and there are many black-and-white photographs. A wealth of anecdotes and an easily accessible style, almost breezy in places, will make this a good choice for general readers and may even inspire them to turn to more substantial fare, such as volume two of Richard S. Wortman's Scenarios of Power (CH, Dec'00, 38-2310). ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General collections and lower-level undergraduates. E. A. Cole Grand Valley State University

Anyone who has read about the reign of the last czar of Russia understands that the imperial court was a place of opulence, but just how opulent it was is given almost staggering detail in this picture of the incredibly elaborate setting in which Nicholas II and his relatives existed. The House of Romanov, which included the czar's immediate and collateral family members, spared themselves nothing in terms of luxury in the declining years of the imperial regime, before the horrors of World War I brought an end to the monarchy. King marshals an amazing amount of information, and just as amazingly he presents it all in a very fluid, compelling fashion; specifically, he profiles the major members of the Romanov clan, then visits where they lived, gathers information on their possessions (such as jewelry, automobiles, and country estates), reconstructs the major pageants they performed in, and details how they spent their leisure. It's eye-opening, and even fun (now that it's all in the past), to visit this extraordinary group in its time and place. --Brad Hooper Copyright 2005 Booklist

This high-end coffee-table book offers a comprehensive look at the lifestyles of the late-czarist rich and famous. King (The Fate of the Romanovs) includes chapters on major czarist institutions like the Russian Orthodox Church, but this is not his main interest; instead, he focuses on imperial ceremonies, palaces and the fashions of Nicholas's court, as well as sexual scandals involving members of the Romanov family. King has a vast knowledge of the subject, and those who are fascinated by the life of the royals and aristocratic intrigue will find much to delight in; for instance, his description of czarist royal jewelry and the magnificence of Russian balls, even as the regime was soon to crumble, adds to our understanding of how myopic the regime was. The photographs, both color and b&w, add to the book's appeal. King has made valuable use of memoirs from the era, but sometimes he uses them uncritically. But for those who are intrigued by the Russian high court, there is no better escort. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Since the fall of the USSR, many writers have covered the Russian Revolution and the Romanovs. None, however, has so completely approached the era from a cultural standpoint as King (The Fate of the Romanovs). He delves deep to display and study the people, places, and pageantry of the Russian court and to illuminate this "insular universe" whose very nature in turn explains many of the issues that brought about the Russian Revolution. In pointing out that after the revolution, Olga, sister of Nicholas II (who ruled from 1894 to 1917), bemoaned the "decay that hung over the dynasty as it entered the twentieth century," King does not connect the dots to the personalities involved in Russia's revolutionary activity, but he need not. His revelations of the pleasures and possessions of the imperial court draw a clear picture of the rot from within. This volume, filled with many color and black-and-white illustrations (not seen), fills the gaps created by purely political and historical treatments of the era. Orlando Figes's Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia comes the closest to the domain of King's book, which is much more thorough and strays less into the distant past. A great companion to Russian Revolution and Nicholas and Alexandra collections in all libraries.-Harry Willems, Southeast Kansas Lib. Syst., Iola (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.