A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story Hardcover – January 20, 1997 by Sergei Mironenko (Author), Andrei Maylunas (Author)
 
These letters, most of which are published here for the first time, offer an intimate look at some of the most momentous events of the early 1900s, including Russia's participation in World War I and the fall of the Romanov dynasty in the Bolshevik revolution. Among the correspondents are Alexandra's beloved but domineering grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, and Nicholas' cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. Most poignant, though, are the letters and diaries of the last Tsar and Tsarina, which stand as eloquent expressions of one of the great love affairs of this century.



A Lifelong Passion begins in 1884 with the couple's first childhood meeting and chronicles their intense courtship and first joyful years of marriage. The Romanovs' happiness was not to last, however, as they were quickly overtaken by the forces of war and revolution. The discovery that their only son and heir Alexei was stricken with hemophilia opened the family to the formidable and perhaps malign influence of the monk Rasputin, whose gory death at the hands of two Grand Dukes is here recounted by one of the murderers. Though unshaken in their love for one another, Nicholas and Alexandra could not hold their country together, and their story ends with a chilling account of their assassination by the Bolshevik revolutionaries.
 
From Library Journal
The letters of Nicholas II, last tsar of Russia, and his wife, Alexandra, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, provide a glimpse into a vanished world. Their letters (many never before published), Nicholas's diary, plus assorted letters, telegrams, and memoirs of everyone from Anastasia to Rasputin are all the more compelling in view of the tragic fate of the oblivious couple and their family. Indeed, as early as 1895 Nicholas gives a speech in which he mentions, "I will retain the principles of autocracy as firmly and unbendingly as my unforgettable late father." Historians Maylunas and Mironenko have done a tremendous job in organizing a massive amount of material from many different languages (Nicholas, for example, kept his diary in Russian and wrote to his wife in English). This terrific work is strongly recommended for all library collections where there is an interest in Russian history and the Romanovs.?Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.