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Help us develop livadia*org by supporting our amazon.com storefront! This is a selection of Romanov and royalty-related books that we recommend. If you have a specific title or subject in mind that is not covered here, please use the search box below! Please note that these are listed in no particular order. You may also visit the Romanov area of our Amazon storefront, which has most of the same content, but is updated more frequently.

This page was last updated on August 21, 2007.

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The Court of the Last Tsar by Greg King.

Entertaining and informative overview of the court of Nikolai II, including information about titles, etiquette, and politics; stories about the branches of the Imperial family, the ministerial corps, foreign dignitaries, the aristocracy, &c.; information about formal state events and balls; and more. Makes an excellent first look at elite life in late Imperial Russia, and a solid introduction to the major "characters" of the Romanov Dynasty. ~ Review by Kali

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander.

A fictional account of the last days of the Romanovs, as told by the kitchen boy at the House of Special Purpose, Leonka. It takes real history and blends it seamlessly with creative fiction, treating the family with fairness and respect in the process. The official website is thekitchenboy.com. ~ Review by Kali

The Romanov Family Album by Marilyn Swezey, with Robert Massie. This book is currently out of print.

This is a wonderful collection of images, but so many of them are presented poorly. They're extremely grainy and tinted hideous sepia tones. Chalk it up to the 80's, I guess. despite this problem, the album is definitely worth adding to your collection if you are a serious Romanov fan. General royalty buffs who want just one Romanov photo book would do better with Prince Michael's Nicholas & Alexandra: The Family Albums (a book that everyone interested in royalty and/or the Romanovs should have, IMO). ~ Review by Kali

Nicholas and Alexandra : The Family Albums By Prince Michael of Greece. This book is currently out of print.

My favorite Romanov picture resource! It's really too bad that this wonderful book is out of print. It's a gold mine! The photographs are organized by year, making identification sooo much easier. To boot, the pictures are of marvellous quality - clear, even, nicely composed, and evocative. You'll put this one down feeling like you've had a visit with the Imperial family. Highly recommended - This book plus Massie's Nicholas & Alexandra make an excellent Romanov 'starter set'. Addendum - please note that there are a few glaring editorial errors in the most recent edition...but don't let that scare you away! ~ Review by Kali

The Romanovs : The Final Chapter By Robert Massie

cover This book lays out some of the findings, theories, and arguments presented regarding the true fate of the Romanovs. Which grand duchess is missing? Where is Alexei? Could anyone have lived? A good starting point for those interested in deducing for themselves which set of remains belongs to which family member. A great companion to Massie's earlier work, Nicholas and Alexandra ~ Review by Kali

Nicholas & Alexandra : The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia By Sergei Mironenko, et al.

cover This thing is FULL of photographs...OTMA's childhood drawings, court gowns, letters, diaries...a wonderful opportunity to get 'close' to the Romanovs and the tumultuous times in which they lived and died. ~ Review by Kali

The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II and a Collection of Private Photographs of the Russian Imperial Family By Alexander Von Solodkoff, et al.

This book is filled with pictures you won't see elsewhere. Many charming candids and lots of informal shots, which means that a good number aren't of optimal photographic quality (too dark, &c.). Some caption misidentifications, but otherwise wonderful. ~ Review by Kali

The Romanovs : Love, Power & Tragedy By A. N. Bokhanov, et al.

cover This book is a MARVELLOUS photographic resource...it's filled with hundreds of wonderful photos. Also has great info...interesting anecdotes and details you won't find in most other Romanov books. More fun than Massie! ~ Review by Kali

Tsar : The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra By Peter Kurth

cover A wonderful compilation of photographs, with a good accompanying text. The photos are generally well-presented and wonderfully-selected. The book as a whole presents to the reader a family that is at once normal and extraordinary, silly and stately, casual and imperial, joyful and tragic. Great for the coffee table, with lots of big, dreamy pictures of the family and their palaces. ~ Review by Kali

Nicholas and Alexandra By Robert Massie

cover If you could keep only one book on the Romanovs, this should be that book! Since my tenth-grade world history teacher lent me his copy back in 1990, I've become a bit of a fanatic. ;o) It's a great overview of the lives of Tsar Nicolas II and his family, and why the political tide in Russia turned against them. And while the account's purview is broad, it includes numerous, delightful little details about the people involved. Many reviewers, including myself, recommend Massie's The Romanovs : The Final Chapter as a companion to this book. ~ Review by Kali

Royal Russia : From the James Blair Lovell Archive By Carol Townend, James Blair Lovell

cover A nice collection of fresh photographs, though a few caption dates are off, this book is worth having for the photographs alone! The pictures aren't readily found in most other available sources, and are very nicely-presented in their entirety (no artful layering and cropping to obscure the subject matter!). I'm especially stoked that the collection draws largely from one of HIH Maria Nikolaievna's albums...poor Mashka often gets short-shrifted in the mix, and so it's nice to find a cache of photos that represent her point-of-view/feature her. ~ Review by Kali

The Last Tsar : The Life and Death of Nicholas II By Edvard Radzinsky

cover Although some of the author's views are pretty wacky, this is a solid book on the last Tsar and the reasons for his downfall. Includes a large amount of attention to primary sources, especially the letters of Nicholas and Alexandra. ~ Review by Kali

The he Complete Wartime Correspondence of Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra: April 1914-March 1917 (Documentary Reference Collections) By Joseph T. Fuhrmann, et al. (ed.)

cover This is the COMPLETE wartime correspondence, and the price reflects it. Casual (or poor) fans might do better with A Lifelong Passion.

A Lifelong Passion : Nicholas and Alexandra (ed.)

cover This is a severely edited version of N&A's letters, including excerpts from diaries, letters, and other writings by members of the family circle. A great way to get to know the family.

Anastasia's Album By Hugh Brewster, et al.

cover A lovely, child-appropriate look at the life of Anastasia Nikolaievna...from her perspective!

:: General Bibliography ::

This is a partial bibliography of sources used in the creation of this site. Bear in mind that inclusion here does not necessarily mean that we endorse the views of the authors.

Alexandrov, Victor. The End of the Romanovs Little, Brown and Co., Boston: 1966.

Bokhanov, Alexander, Knodt, Dr. Manfred, Ousimenko, Vladimir, Peregudova, Zinaida, and Tyutyunnik, Lyubov. The Romanovs: Love Power, & Tragedy United Kingdom, Leppi Publications: 1993.

Botkin, Gleb. The Woman Who Rose Again New York: 1937.

Brewster, Hugh. Anastasia's Album New York, Hyperion Books: 1996.

Buxhoeveden, Baroness Sophie Karlovna. The Life and Tradgedy of Alexandra Feodorovona, Empress of Russia New York: 1928.

Bykov, P.M. The Last Days of Tsar Nicholas International Publishers, New York: 1934.

Clarke, William. The Lost Fortune of the Tsars St. Martin's Press, New York: 1995.

Crawford, Rosemary and Donald. Michael and Natasha. New York, Scribner, 1997.

Dehn, Lili. The Real Tsaritsa Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1922.

Eagar, M. Six Years at the Russian Court. 1906.

Ferro, Marc. Nicholas II, The Last of the Tsars New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.

Grabbe, Paul and Beatrice, Editors. The Private World of the Last Tsar in the Photogaphs and Notes of General Count Alexander Grabbe. Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 1984.

Gilliard, Pierre. Thirteen Years at the Russian Court London: 1921.

King, Greg. The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II Wiley Press, New York: 2006.

King, Greg. The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia New York: 1994.

Klier, John. Mingay, Helen. The Quest for Anastasia: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs. New York: Birch Lane Press, 1997.

Kozlov, Vladimir S. and Khrustalev, Vladimir M.(ed) The Last Diary of Tsaritsa Alexandra New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997.

Kurth, Peter. Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson Little, Brown and Co., Boston: 1983.

Kurth, Peter. Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra Little, Brown and Co., Boston: 1995.

Lieven, Dominic. Nicholas II, Twilight Of The Empire New York, St. MartinÕs Press, 1993.

LIFE. Mystery of the Czar's Daughter 14 February 1955 pp. 31-5.

Lovell, James Blair Anastasia: The Lost Princess Washington: 1991.

Lyons, Marvin. Nicholas II, The Last Tsar New York: 1974.

Maples, William R. and Michael Browning Dead Men Do Tell Tales New York: 1994.

Massie, Robert K. Nicholas and Alexandra New York: 1967.

Massie, Robert. The Romanovs - The Final Chapter New York, 1995.

Massie, Robert. The Romanov Family Album New York: The Vendome Press, 1982.

Mayhinas, Andrei and Mironeuko, Sergei. A Lifelong Passion New York, Doubleday, 1997.

Michael, Prince of Greece. Nicholas and Alexandra: The Family Albums London: 1992.

O'Conor, John F. (ed.) The Sokolov Investigation New York: 1971.

O'Sullivan, Dermot. Romanov Riddle Chemical and Engineering News 71 (1993): 6-7.

Radzinsky, Edvard. The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II. New York: 1992.

Romanov, Nicholas II. The Letters of the Tsar to the Tsaritsa,1914-1917 Trans. A.L. Hynes. Westport: 1929.

Solodkoff, Alexander von. The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II. London: Ermitage, 1997.

Steinberg, Mark and Vladimir M. Khrustal‘v The Fall of the Romanovs:Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution Yale: 1995.

Townend, Carol. Royal Russia: The Private Albums of the Russian Imperial Family. New York: St. Martins Press, 1998.

Trewin, John C. The House of Special Purpose Stein and Day, New York: 1975

Vassilli, Paul. Behind the Veil of the Russian Court London: 1913.

Vorres, Ian. The Last Grand Duchess. New York: Scribners, 1965.

Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court. New York: 1923.

Zeepvat, Charlotte. Romanov Autumn. Sutton Publishing, Surrey: 2000.

Zeepvat, Charlotte. The Cameria and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album. Sutton Publishing, Surrey: 2004.