Nicholas and Alexandra [Hardcover]

George Sergei Vilinbakhov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1998

This magnificent, compelling volume reveals in unparalleled detail the luxurious world and private lives of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, his wife, Alexandra, and their five children. It accompanies the largest collection of Imperial family treasures ever to leave Russia, on exhibit through Dec. 31, 1998, at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center, Wilmington, Delaware. 644 color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Unless you heed the voices of those who know the state in which Russia finds herself ... the result will be utter despair." Thus was Tsar Nicholas II advised in 1913, to no avail. The decent but pathetic and none too brilliant monarch was brutally murdered in the summer of 1918, along with his nervous wife, Alexandra (who had fallen under the spell of the wild-eyed peasant monk Rasputin), and their five children. On the cover of this ambitious--and completely successful--book is a formal portrait of the ethereally beautiful royal family, in delicate finery and pearls; on the back, a shot of their mass grave, a bleak field in the middle of nowhere. As the catalog of a huge exhibition drawn from the State Hermitage Museum and the State Archive of the Russian Federation, this book is filled with color plates of the sumptuous trappings of court life in turn-of-the-century Russia: jeweled Fabergé eggs, coronation paintings, Russian icons, satin ball gowns, soldiers' uniforms, crowns, and other treasures. But the soul of the book is the archival material: royal-family photos, political documents, telegrams, letters between Nicholas and Alexandra, locks of royal baby hair, and grisly eye-witness accounts of the Romanoffs' murders, as told by those who did the deed. More than 100 curators, historians, and art historians have created this lengthy, comprehensive book detailing the beginnings of what Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum, calls "the tragedy of 20th-century Russia." Yet it reads like a fatal thriller, one with opulence, evil, and error at its core. --Peggy Moorman

Product Details

• Hardcover: 407 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810936879
• ISBN-13: 978-0810936874
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicholas & Alexandra - regal flotsam of a royal marriage, May 19, 2000

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nicholas and Alexandra (Hardcover)

When I hauled this huge & heavy tome home, sat before a roaring fire with a cup of tea, I suddenly remembered the fragile, jewel-encrusted old lady who lived in the apartment next to us, over-looking the rooftops of Little Venice in London. Nicholas & Alexandra opens at the entrance to The State Hermitage Museum with larger than life statues holding up the foyer roof; a beautiful start to a tour of a once-upon-a-time world of court portraitists, illustrators & painters. This is an extraordinary collection of memorabilia, haunting because their owners are all gone now & impressive because it is a measure of a nation's brilliant artisans & wealth.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Window looking into the luxurious Romanov world..., October 4, 2004

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nicholas and Alexandra (Hardcover)

For those who love reading about the Romanov's, Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia is one of the most beautiful and thrilling books available. This book was originally compiled as the exhibition catalog for the prestigious Nicholas and Alexandra Exhibit put on by the Broughton Company in Wilmington, Delaware. This 408 page tabletop book, is filled with incredible photos (most in color) of the close to 700 imperial items that were on display from the State Hermitage Museum and the State Archive of the Russian Federation.

Nicholas and Alexandra contains fabulous paintings, letters, gowns, diaries, photos, icons, Faberge' eggs, frames, jewelry, dishes, sculptures, flags, uniforms, military decorations, weapons, porcelain, toys, and gifts given to the royal family. It also includes a reproduction of Nicholas' library in the Winter Palace, as well as Tsarina Alexandra's grand piano, the throne from the Winter Palace and the coronation carriage originally designed for Empress Catherine II . The paintings of the royal wedding and Nicholas' coronation are especially impressive, while photos of items from their murder will leave you with a lump in your throat.

While this book is short on giving any kind of in-depth history about the Romanov family, it goes a long way in showing just how they lived. It's amazing to look at the dresses and uniforms and to realize that for positions larger than life, the Tsar and Tsarina were actually very small people. Nicholas was a rather short man at approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. More than anything, you get a glimpse of the tragedy of their fates and the things they gave up because of Nicholas' misguided leadership. No wonder this story still haunts us--even after 87 years.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You should have it too, May 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Nicholas and Alexandra (Hardcover)

First time I saw this book, I wasn't very interested. But I bought it anyway because it was on sale, and I like to have everything Romanov. But as it turned out, it grew on me like a fungus. Now it is one of my treasures, I look through it often, it is so full of pictures of artifacts you won't see in any other Romanov book and it thus gives color to a world that is otherwise in black and white. Pictures of the members of the extended family were also fascinating and also got me interested in them, though NAOTMAA are still my favorites. What a pity I didn't get to see the exhibition, but this book is I think as close as you'll ever get to the real thing, unless you get the chance to see the palaces.