Royal Russia: The Private Albums Of The Russian Imperial Family [Hardcover]

James B. Lovell (Author), Carol Townend (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1997

This splendid selection of 140 rare or unpublished photographs from the Romanovs' own albums is an intimate portrait of the private and public lives of Tsar Nicholas II's family. It shows them relaxing in the luxury of their magnificent country estates, at work during World War I in the Palace Hospital, the children playacting, mushroom picking, and studying with their tutors. More formal portraits include the ceremony of the Imperial court as well as such important family occasions as the celebration of the birth of the heir Alexei.

This unique compilation is taken from the personal album of the Tsar's daughter Grand Duchess Maria and from the Tsarina Alexandra's own commemorative album, both now in the James Blair Lovell Archive. It also draws on the impressive collection of Ian Lilburn, a close friend of Anna Anderson, once the most plausible claimant to being the Grand Duchess Anastasia. With an explanatory text and informative captions often compiled from the original Russian, this is an extraordinary chronicle of a way of life that ended with the brutal execution of practically every member of the Imperial Family photographed in this book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eminent Romanov historian James Blair Lovell's major work, Anastasia: The Lost Princess, was first published in 1991. When he died in 1993, he left behind a vast and important archive of Romanov documents and artifacts, some of which is reproduced here for the very first time.

Carol Townend studied European and Byzantine History at Royal Holloway College, London University. The author of several historical novels, she now lives in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (November 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312179367
• ISBN-13: 978-0312179366
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,906,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Townend writes medieval romances set in England and Europe - romantic historicals and a couple of darker sagas. Born in Yorkshire, she went to a convent school in Whitby and studied history at Royal Holloway College, London. She loves research trips, never quite knowing which castle, church, palace or city will fire her imagination next. Her first novel, Sapphire in the Snow, won the RNA New Writers' Award. Recent titles are available on Kindle.
For more about Carol and her writing, please visit her blogsite: http://caroltownend.co.uk
Carol's non-fiction writing includes dozens of articles for Writing Magazine and Writers' News, and a portrait of the Romanovs which introduces family portraits from the Imperial albums. Carol lives in London with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice collection of fresh photographs..., January 6, 2000

By 

Kaliopi Pappas "Tatiana Larina" (Stockton, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Royal Russia: The Private Albums Of The Russian Imperial Family (Hardcover)

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 Nicolaievna'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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not great, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Royal Russia: The Private Albums Of The Russian Imperial Family (Hardcover)

The photographs are beautiful. There are fewer of them than in most other Romanov photo collections, but then, I haven't seen most of them elsewhere, either. One quibble is that several of the photographs seem to be mistakenly identified-- which daughter is which, and so forth. Slightly annoying. The book could also have done with more accompanying text and descriptions. Most pages contain just one or two photographs with brief captions.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, March 17, 2004

By 

"otmafan" (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Royal Russia: The Private Albums Of The Russian Imperial Family (Hardcover)

In "Royal Russia", Lovell draws the reader into the amazing world of the last Imperial Family with their wonderful photographs. The photographs are excellent, however there are some misidentifictations of the Grand Duchesses. Nonetheless, the book is great.