The Court of the Last Tsar Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II

by King, Greg

• ISBN13: 9780471727637
• ISBN10: 0471727636
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-24
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Praise for The Court of the Last Tsar "Any book by Greg King is a book to be kept and savored. He has not only given us a fresh, clear-eyed, and often startling new look at the life of the last Romanovs, but also lived up to the promise of his title. He has shown us how the whole enterprise worked, from Tsar Nicholas to his lowest cook and chambermaid. This book is a great work of scholarship--and a wonderful read." --Peter Kurth, author of Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra and Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson "A mammoth, monumental achievement. No other book captures the essence and the entire scope of life at the court of Nicholas II. It's a thoroughly enjoyable and encyclopedic masterpiece that will be a major source for historians and biographers for years to come." --Marlene A. Eilers, author of Queen Victoria's Descendants and publisher of Royal Book News "Greg King has truly written a tour de force. The book is extremely well researched, has over 100 illustrations and is, quite simply, marvelous." --Coryne Hall, author of Little Mother of Russia, Once a Grand Duchess, and Imperial Dancer "Greg King is emerging as one of the leading authorities in today's liveliest field of Russian studies, and this is a major contribution to the study of late Imperial Russia." --Joseph T. Fuhrmann, author of Rasputin and the editor of The Complete Wartime Correspondence of Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra

Author Biography

<b>GREG KING</b> is the coauthor of The Fate of the Romanovs (Wiley). His previous works include <i>The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia and The Man Who Killed Rasputin: Prince Felix Youssoupov</i> and the <i>Murder That Helped Bring Down the Russian Empire</i>. He has worked as an on-screen commentator with the Learning Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the Arts and Entertainment Channel.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xi
Introduction	1	(8)
Prologue: St. Petersburg	9	(24)
Part One: Personages
The Last Tsar	33	(14)
The Imperial Family	47	(16)
A Rival Court	63	(12)
The Romanovs	75	(22)
The Russian Court	97	(16)
Below Stairs at the Palace	113	(18)
The Military	131	(10)
The Aristocracy	141	(10)
The Russian Orthodox Church	151	(16)
Part Two: Palaces
The Winter Palace	167	(16)
Tsarskoye Selo	183	(20)
Peterhof	203	(16)
The Moscow Palaces	219	(12)
Part Three: Possessions
Imperial Riches	231	(10)
Fashion at the Russian Court	241	(12)
Jewelry, Regalia, and Objets d'art	253	(14)
Imperial Transportation	267	(20)
Country Estates	287	(16)
Part Four: Pageantry
Imperial Ceremonies	303	(22)
An Imperial Funeral	325	(18)
An Imperial Wedding	343	(14)
The Coronation	357	(32)
The Tercentenary	389	(16)
Part Five: Pleasures
Imperial Balls	405	(14)
State Visits	419	(18)
The Crimea	437	(16)
The Last Season	453	(18)
Epilogue: July 20, 1914: The Beginning of the End	471	(6)
Acknowledgments	477	(4)
Appendix A Family Tree of Nicholas I	481	(2)
Appendix B Organizational Chart of the Russian Imperial Court	483	(2)
Appendix C The Imperial Court in 1914	485	(14)
Appendix D Palace Floor Plans	499	(4)
Appendix E Maps of the Imperial Estates	503	(2)
Appendix F Map of St. Petersburg	505	(4)
Notes	509	(22)
Bibliography	531	(8)
Index	539