Death of a monarchy (From The Oxford Times)

Death of a monarchy

4:37pm Thursday 3rd July 2008 in

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by Dean Haigh

EKATERINBURG: THE LAST DAYS OF THE ROMANOVS

(Hutchinson, £18.99) Helen Rappaport

Considering Oxford writer Helen Rappaport's credentials as an expert on Russian history and that her past biographical subjects have included Stalin and Queen Victoria, it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually produce an account of the end of the Russian monarchy.

Having uncovered enlightening new sources, Rappaport wisely decided against producing an overtly academic reference work and the result is a highly accessible account of the last 14 days in the lives of former tsar Nicholas, his formidable yet sickly wife Alexandra and their five children.

The book is based on family diaries and letters, plus eyewitness accounts of the minutiae of their imprisoned existence.

Rather than romanticising the family members, the author explores their numerous character defects.

Set against the rich political backdrop of the bloody birth of the revolution, the result is extraordinary and powerful.