Tales of the Romanov Empire

323 pages

4 stars

This is a delightful collection of short vignettes about the life and time of various of Russia’s ruling Romanov family. It began with the first Tsar Romanov Mikhail. He took the throne at just age sixteen and the various stories continue throughout the just over three hundred-year reign.

There are many, many stories.

The ongoing attempts of the strelsky to overthrow the rightful Tsar. There is the tale of elder sister Spohia trying to overthrow the rightful Tsar Peter. I found myself rooting for Peter all the way even though I already knew how the story would turn out. Or, when Catherine the Great cleverly schemed the throne away from her ineffective husband. Or the murder of ghastly Tsar Pavel Romanov? (After he usurped the throne from his brother Alexander.) Alexander I’s ongoing battle with Napoleon.

We follow the remaining Romanovs until the final conclusion of the entire family of Tsar Nicholas II at the hands of the Bolsheviks.

This book is well written and Ms. Anolic has chosen some very good stories to recount. I enjoyed reading it. Being a student of the Romanov family, there was nothing new to me, but I liked the book nonetheless.

I want to thank NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op/KDP/Amazon for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Tales of the Romanov Empire is certainly an interesting read. By breaking it into small sections Anolic has created a fast and easy read showing the lives of one of the most famous families in World History.

The woman of Empire is vast and sometimes quite overwhelming to read about. However, this book breaks it up into manageable chunks. Never skimming on fact, however always keeping you engaged and entertained. A wonderfully informative book. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tales of the Romanov Empire by Tamar Anolic is a collection of short stories, depicting the rise and fall of the Romanov dynasty. It covers a long period of the Russian history between 1613 to 1918.

The book is a fictionalised account of the Russian tsars, which sheds light on the more obscure figures of the Russian history.
This is an ambitious project, given the challenging time scale and number of characters. Anolic has clearly done some excellent research.

Given the extent of the dynasty's ruthlessness and thirst for power, the portrayal of the Romanovs is too sympathetic and forgiving, even romanticised. Blood-thirsty and unscrupulous, many of them removed their nearest and dearest without compunction.

Tales of the Romanov Empire is a compelling, colourful collection of stories, with a huge cast of characters. It would appeal to anyone interested in the Russian history, especially the dramatic story of the Romanov family.

This book has a fascinating conceit- the story of the Romanovs through vignettes of the main family members. The episodes Anolic chooses to write about for each are fascinating - the origins of the dynasty where the surviving heir had to be found, an illustration of the powers of the boyars in the choice of bride of one of the Tsars , a pivotal incident in the life of Peter the Great as a child, when he saw his beloved relatives slaughtered and his own family sent into exile by the Regent Sophia, the journey and preparation of Princess Sophia of Prussia to be married to the future Tsar Peter-it was quite a jolt when the last line of the chapter read that her name was baptized to Catherine! Incredible to read that. The perspectives she chooses to write from are unique; there are chapters on a major Cossack revolt, the raids by the Tatars on Russian border villages, and 2 lovely, moving chapters on Wolf Rosen, a Jewish trader in the Pale of Settlement who ends up making his way to America. Those chapters are lent an additional poignance by a personal connection to the author. The language is anachronistic in some chapters, but you're so caught up in it that it doesn't signify. This is an area of history that fascinates me, and Anolic captures a grand sweep of history beautifully, all through her short stories. I can't begin to imagine the effort that must have gone into selecting the particular incidents to write about, researching those and then editing them down to this length. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could!

I just love stories about the romanovs and this is one. But i’m most interested because of anastasia i watched it when i was jonger and now i just love to read about how it was and what’s behind it.

Tales of the Romnov Empire provides a fascinting view of histprical moments throughout the Romonov Empire. Each chapter takes on a character from history and adding their point of view mixed in with historical facts. It reads like fiction which does seperate it from more serious textbook. I think if you have a intrest in Russian history but just want something on the shorter side that covers many different sides of history then this one is for you.

This book contains condensed versions of many well known stories about the three hundred years that the Romanovs ruled Russia. My favorite story was the one about Wolf Rosen leaving for America around 1905 because the pogrom was murdering Jews in Russia! My Grandfather left Russia around the same time for the very same reasons. Tamar Anolic has written almost a Cliff Notes version of Russian history. It's a quick read and very interesting, easy to read. Thanks go to Netgalley for the epub.

Short stories illustrating some of the lesser-known scenes from the life and times of the Romanovs. Really enjoyed these little vignettes giving brief insights into their Empire from different points of view. The short story format, like theatre scenes makes it easier for the reader to move between locations, time and personalities. I understand some are based on the author's family history. Thanks to Netgalley.

I've been working my way through the backlog of ARC's that took a backseat while I was finishing up my master's, which means that I completely forgot that this book is actually historical fiction. Granted, I tend to snap up anything on the Romanovs, so it probably didn't register the first time around. Still, this was a really engaging read. By breaking up the long historical timeline into short-story like chapters we get a wonderful re-telling of the Romanovs, the empire, and their reign through their own eyes and the eyes of others. Anolic is an engaging writer who appears to have a good grasp on the actual lives and times of her subject matter, which shows in the fictionalizations presented here. I'm definitely going to try to read more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook of this title!

Tales of the Romanov Empire was a fantastic and fun look at four centuries of Romanov rule in Russia! Anolic gives an interesting but not overwhelming snapshot of each Tsar/ina's reign, and has chosen some fairly eclectic episodes in some cases. While a Romanov specialist might not find anything new, I think that there is something for almost everyone interested in the Romanovs or royalty in general. The entire dynasty tends to live under the shadow of its last Tsar, and it is so much more than that!

4.5/5 Stars

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This was great
I love the whole Romanov period and this was really well researched
Learned loads