"On the centenary of the death of Rasputin comes a definitive biography that will dramatically change our understanding of this fascinating figure. A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and the guardian of the sickly heir to the Russian throne. His debauchery and sinister political influence are the stuff of legend, and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty was laid at his feet. But as the prizewinning historian Douglas Smith shows, the true story of Rasputin's life and death has remained shrouded in myth. A major new work that combines probing scholarship and powerful storytelling, Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the real life of one of history's most alluring figures. Drawing on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries, Smith presents Rasputin in all his complexity--man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. Rasputin is not just a definitive biography of an extraordinary and legendary man but a fascinating portrait of the twilight of imperial Russia as it lurched toward catastrophe."--
Record details
ISBN:9780374240844
ISBN:0374240841
ISBN:9781250141262 (trade paperback)
Physical Description:print xx, 817 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Edition:First American edition.
Publisher:New York :Farrar, Straus and Giroux,2016.
Introduction: The Holy Devil? -- Holy pilgrim: 1869-1904 -- Our friend: 1905-1909 -- Scandals: 1910-1911 -- A time of miracles: 1912-July 1914 -- War: July 1914-1915 -- The final year: 1916 -- The aftermath: 1917-1918 -- Epilogue.
Book
