Nicholas and Alexandra

The story of the love that ended an empire

In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs' lives: Nicholas's political naïveté, Alexandra's obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis's brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history--the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.

Praise for Nicholas and Alexandra

"A larger-than-life drama."--Saturday Review

"A moving, rich book . . . [This] revealing, densely documented account of the last Romanovs focuses not on the great events . . . but on the royal family and their evil nemesis. . . . The tale is so bizarre, no melodrama is equal to it."--Newsweek

"A wonderfully rich tapestry, the colors fresh and clear, every strand sewn in with a sure hand. Mr. Massie describes those strange and terrible years with sympathy and understanding. . . . They come vividly before our eyes."--The New York Times

"An all-too-human picture . . . Both Nicholas and Alexandra with all their failings come truly alive, as does their almost storybook romance."--Newsday

"A magnificent and intimate picture . . . Not only the main characters but a whole era become alive and comprehensible."--Harper's