A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story [Hardcover]

Sergei Mironenko (Author), Andrei Maylunas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 1997

These letters, most of which are published here for the first time, offer an intimate look at some of the most momentous events of the early 1900s, including Russia's participation in World War I and the fall of the Romanov dynasty in the Bolshevik revolution. Among the correspondents are Alexandra's beloved but domineering grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, and Nicholas' cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. Most poignant, though, are the letters and diaries of the last Tsar and Tsarina, which stand as eloquent expressions of one of the great love affairs of this century.



A Lifelong Passion begins in 1884 with the couple's first childhood meeting and chronicles their intense courtship and first joyful years of marriage. The Romanovs' happiness was not to last, however, as they were quickly overtaken by the forces of war and revolution. The discovery that their only son and heir Alexei was stricken with hemophilia opened the family to the formidable and perhaps malign influence of the monk Rasputin, whose gory death at the hands of two Grand Dukes is here recounted by one of the murderers. Though unshaken in their love for one another, Nicholas and Alexandra could not hold their country together, and their story ends with a chilling account of their assassination by the Bolshevik revolutionaries.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The letters of Nicholas II, last tsar of Russia, and his wife, Alexandra, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, provide a glimpse into a vanished world. Their letters (many never before published), Nicholas's diary, plus assorted letters, telegrams, and memoirs of everyone from Anastasia to Rasputin are all the more compelling in view of the tragic fate of the oblivious couple and their family. Indeed, as early as 1895 Nicholas gives a speech in which he mentions, "I will retain the principles of autocracy as firmly and unbendingly as my unforgettable late father." Historians Maylunas and Mironenko have done a tremendous job in organizing a massive amount of material from many different languages (Nicholas, for example, kept his diary in Russian and wrote to his wife in English). This terrific work is strongly recommended for all library collections where there is an interest in Russian history and the Romanovs.?Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (January 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385486731
• ISBN-13: 978-0385486736
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.8 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MASTERPIECE, January 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story (Hardcover)

A Lifelong Passion is, at its heart, a magnificent love story, made all the richer because, unlike most love stories, it is rooted in absolute truth. Although the dynamics of the relationship between Nicholas and wife, Alexandra, are quite complex, there is no doubt that they adored each other and their five beautiful children. Politics aside, the heart of their life lay in the family. And this was a fmaily undivided. They shared everything: their joys, sorrows, tragedies, fears, triumphs, and ultimately, their tragic and untimely deaths.

A Lifelong Passion is not a work of fiction. The authors have meticulously researched the diaries and letters of both Nicholas and Alexandra and their children, then created a compilation that reads like a passionate thriller. We really come to know the Romanovs as well as those close to them: the brothers and sisters of Tsar Nicholas, the Dowager Empress Marie, Kaiser Wilhelm, Queen Victoria, and others.

A Lifelong Passion is also a portrait of the decline of a dynasty, seen through the eyes of those who lived it. Filled with political plots and intrigue, the book serves as a sweeping panorama of the last days of the Russian Empire. We get to know Imperial Russia "firsthand" and I found myself thoroughly engrossed.

A Lifelong Passion is a long book, yet it is never boring. The pace never slows and our desire to know more never ends. Ultimately, the book ends in a tragedy made all the greater because we have come to know the victims so very well. Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of Tsar Nicholas II, whether you like or dislike the people involved, you can't help but feel you've come to know them, and their tragic demise causes you to grieve.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a love story as poignant as The Thorn Birds, as panoramic in scope as Doctor Zhivago. A timeless classic filled with history, tragedy and love. Highly recommended!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful., May 15, 2002

By 

E. Duncan "lanied86" (Simi Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story (Hardcover)

This book takes one back not just to Imperial Russia, the lost world, but it takes you into the hearts of a man and a woman so deeply in love that their passion cries from each word. It takes you into the minds of their five children: intelligent Olga, sophisticated Tatiana, sweet Maria, wild Anastasia and clear-brained Aleksey. The letters encompass everything--their first meeting between Princess Alix von Hessen and Tsarevitch Nicholas of Russia, when she was 12 and he 16. It shows the love and care they had for eachother even then. It shows how they jumped over hurdles to be together, breaking down every barrier so they could be together eternally. It shows their love and joy at their five children, who were their world. It shows their family members, concerned, sometimes angry, at their actions. It takes you back to a world where you loved and were loved, a world that was vanished in 1918 by the merciless slaughter of these people, these children, who never had a chance to live.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicholas and Alexandra - A Lifelong Passion or Obsession?, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story (Hardcover)

While reading the love letters and notes Nicholas and Alexandra wrote to each other both before and throughout their marriage I couldn't help thinking how modern day psychologists would probably label their relationship "obsessive and codependent." Even so, I found this intimate glimpse into the lives of Nicholas, Alexandra, their children, relatives, friends, courtiers, civil servants and even their assassins, most enthralling. But the book is not your so-called 'page turner'. I lingered over each page and even tagged favorite parts and quotes or cross-references with Post-it notes. This is history revealed from within the very heart of the experience. So much so, I at times had the eery sense of actually being present while the words I was reading in print were first being written in longhand or punched out a letter at a time with stubby childish fingers on an early-model typewriter. Except I don't happen to believe in reincarnation. I just think this is history presented the way it should be, through the words of the people who lived it. These people expressed themselves quite well and need no theorist's interpretation of their writing or intentions. Reading this book is not unlike going off into your grandparent's attic and finding all these letters and pictures you never knew existed and losing track of time as you untie the ribbon around the bundle of love letter and discover while reading them how half your family came into being. Only in the case of Nicholas and Alexandra I had a problem with the fact I already knew what the end was and I didn't want to get to it. The people I met in this book tugged at my heart and mind so much I desperately wanted for there to have been a mistake and learn that they had in fact escaped from Ipatiev house and lived out their lives in comfortable exile on the Isle or Jersey or in the south of France. And then I had to ask myself, would I even be here reading about them if they had lived? The lives and deaths of the Romanovs affected so many people it is difficult to fathom what the impact of their remaining alive might have been. And I think it's pointless to speculate despite the fact so many people built whole lives around pretending to be survivors of that hideous execution. Much better to enjoy the memory of what they really left that was inspired and wonderful, learn from their numerous mistakes, grieve their loss and go on to reading about other aspect of history. You see, the real danger that comes of reading this book is the fact you can easily become as addicted to rereading it as Alexandra was obsessed with trying to find a cure for her son's hemophilia, or find ways to spend more time alone with her husband. Then I shudder in realizing how she did indeed get her wish in the end, though certainly not in the way she wanted to.