White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919 [Hardcover]

Jamie H. Cockfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0275977781 | ISBN-13: 978-0275977788

Based on material from the newly opened Russian archives, this is the first biography of Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov (1859-1919), the only intellectual in the Russian Imperial Family. This unique study provides insight into the last six decades of tsarist Russia through the experiences of the odd ball member of the clan. An historian and a biologist, the Grand Duke made major contributions in both these fields. A political liberal, he fought tirelessly for reform from within the system. His reformist views made him a pariah within his own family, and contemporary recognition of his accomplishments came more from abroad than at home.

Entering the military, as all Romanovs did, the Grand Duke eventually became hostile toward it and was in fact the only family member ever to formally leave military service. He received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Berlin and Moscow and even won election to the French Academy—one of only two Russians to do so. As the political situation in Russia worsened, he urged the tsar to implement reforms, and he even participated in discussions of a palace coup. Exiled to Vologda after the Communist seizure of power, he was later imprisoned by the police and shot in January 1919.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This detailed biography of Tsar Nicholas Il's intellectual and cosmopolitan cousin is a major contribution to scholarship in Russian history. Based on extensive archival research in Moscow, Paris, and elsewhere, and utilizing many materials unavailable to researchers until recently, the study also draws on interviews conducted earlier by Professor Cockfield with high-placed figures who had first-hand familiarity with aspects of the figures and events treated....the biography sheds valuable light on social, political, and intellectual life in Russia during the period and on major events, including the uprising of 1905, the assassination of Rasputin, and the great revolution of 1917 and its sequels. Well-written, rich in detail, and carefully documented, this compelling volume offers to the general reader as well as to specialists in Russian history a fine portrait of the Grand Duke and his times." Catharine Savage Brosman author Images of War in France: Fiction, Art, Ideology "The author has used skillfully a large variety of archival and other materials in this interesting biography of an overlooked but significant member of the Romanov family. The section devoted to his experiences in the 1917 Revolution is especially significant." David MacKenzie Professor Emeritus of History University of North Carolina, Greensboro

About the Author

JAMIE H. COCKFIELD is the Willis Borders Glover Professor of History at Mercer University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (July 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275977781
• ISBN-13: 978-0275977788
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,539,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The biography of a Royal Gentleman Scholar, September 24, 2003

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919 (Hardcover)

This is the first full length English biography of Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov of Russia. The Grand Duke was the eldest of the 4 sons and 1 daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Nicholaevich and spent most of his youth in the Caucasus where his father was Viceroy.

In later life Nicholas was a well known and respected historian. His works on Russian history and butterflies (both of them passions) are still respected today within in Russia. These interests of Nicholas and his genuine scholarship, along with his love and respect for France and its political systems made him an atypical Romanov.

This is a reasonably detailed and well researched biography that uses primary sources mostly from Russia and France. The author does not hide the Grand Dukes acerbic and cynical nature or try to gloss over his more unattractive traits such as his inability to keep a secret or his anti-Semitism.

However, at the same time the book does not really seem to pinpoint why the Grand Duke was a "Pariah in the Family". The period of Nicholas life during the Russian revolution and the months leading to his death are particularly well documented in some detail, especially in comparison to some of his earlier years.

This book is an important work in filling out the world of the Romanovs and brings to life a Grand Duke, who in most western works, has lived his life in the shadows until now - but who in France and Russia in his day was a celebrity based on ability as much as his imperial birth.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fine book, but -, March 20, 2006

By 

D. A. Johnson "Illini" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919 (Hardcover)

I would agree with comments above from other reviewers. This provides a very well written and superbly documented perspective on a "new" Romanov. The histories of the tsars can tend to be a bit reptitious.

Disappointment in the Grand Duke or "White Crow": While he is different than others, he is still an Imperial Romanov with all of the accompanying trappings and weight that pulled this house down. The times may be of more far more interest than the life.

Book production shortcomings: If ever a family tree would be useful, it is for this book. And how about a few more photos on quality paper? No dustcover. For the amazingly high price, this is a poorly produced book. Is the demand that low?

A fine book for those with a deep interest in pre-revolutionary Russia. This is not a book, as well done as it is, for the newer student of Russian history.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Detailed, Fascinating Biography, December 15, 2003

By 

Bagelchip "Bagelchip" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919 (Hardcover)

I found this to be a refreshing and absolutely fascinating book about a "minor" member of the Romanov family (because he was intelligent, intellectual and hardworking). I think I have read all the Romanov biographies published in French or English, and I hated for this one to end!

I believe it does depict why Nicholas Mikhailovich was a pariah in the Romanov family, from the "White Crow" title on, although it is helpful if the reader can bring some knowledge to the book (beyond Nicholas and Alexandra), but it isn't essential.

I highly recommend this book to anyone fascinated by European literary and historical culture of the late 19th century, and to anyone whose interest in Imperial Russia goes deeper than wondering if anyone survived the massacre in Ekaterinburg -- this sheds some life on why they ended up there!