8 of the Best Books About the Romanovs

This is the book to read if you want a sweeping, well-told account of the Romanovs’ entire three-century reign. Montefiore, who has written well-regarded books on Stalin , Catherine the Great’s relationship with Prince Potemkin , and Jerusalem , among others, has a wonderful ability to pinpoint crucial moments and recount them in a way that brings individuals and complex personal and political dynamics to life.

Long before the Dianas and Kates and Meghans of the royal world, the public were obsessed with Russia's famed grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Romanov. Here, Helen Rappaport, one of the foremost writers on the Romanovs, delves into the lives of the four sisters, pulling from their own writings to illuminate their experiences in the twilight of the Imperial Russia.

Robert K. Massie, who died in 2019 at the age of 90, wrote numerous well-regarded books about the Romanovs, including Peter the Great: His Life and World , which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981. But his long journey with the Russian royal dynasty began in 1967, with this nuanced, lyrical portrait of the couple who were the last to reign.

Once called "the grandmother of Europe" Queen Victoria had genetic connections to many of the most prominent royal families in the region, including to the Romanovs—the tsarina Alexandra was her granddaughter. This history takes a closer look at the queen's complicated relationship with Russia (which she referred to as "horrid Russia" ) using Victoria's journals and letters to examine the complex nuances of family and politics as they played out between two of the most famous royal families of the 19th century.

Perhaps the most famous figure associated with the Romanovs and their dramatic downfall wasn't a member of the royal family himself. Debauched and devoted, openly despised yet politically powerful, the strange dichotomy of Grigori Rasputin made the so-called Mad Monk as much a mystery during his life as it has since his infamous death and has turned him into a figure of modern legend.

Translator Helen Azar brings the diaries of the eldest Romanov daughter, Olga, to English for the first time. Covering 12 years of her life, from the time she was 10 until her father abdicated the throne in 1917, her words offer a peek behind the curtain into the world of the Romanovs.

(For those craving more first hand accounts from the Romanov girls, Azar has also translated books of diaries and letters from Tatiana , Maria , and Anastasia as well.)

Not a history of the Romanovs per se, but this account of members of the Russian upper class arriving penniless in Paris after the revolution offers a gripping endnote to the 305-year dynasty. Former generals find work as porters and ex-duchesses begin careers as seamstresses as they adjust to a new and unwelcoming world order.

More than just royalty, this book takes a look at the lives of the Romanovs as a family—including the human foibles that would exacerbate the frustration and distrust of the public and ultimately lead to the revolution that would bring an end to the Romanov dynasty.