The Romanovs

The Romanovs traces the dynasty that ruled Russia from the accession of Michael Romanov in 1613 to the fall of Nicholas II and the murder of the imperial family in 1918. Montefiore presents succession crises, palace coups, marriages, wars and court factions alongside the expansion of a state that grew from the Muscovite tsardom into one of the largest empires in the world.

The narrative gives sustained attention to rulers including Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II while also following ministers, favourites, spouses and rivals around them. By combining family biography with imperial history, the book connects intimate dynastic relationships to reform, repression, territorial expansion and the revolutionary crisis that ultimately destroyed the monarchy.