Monday, March 7, 2022

After the Romanovs - Helen Rappaport

After the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque Through Revolution and WarAfter the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque Through Revolution and War by Helen Rappaport
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a bit more cerebral (lots of footnotes) than I expected. It was definitely well-researched based on the notes and such for the last 30%. I ended up like it and learning some though.
It begins before "after the Romanovs"...at least to my understanding of Russian history. In fact, about half the book is about before Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered. I truly had no idea about Paris being a second home to Russian emigres for decades upon decades. The book focuses on the royals, the wealthy, and the artists who fled Russia at various times in the early 19th century and made a new life (or not) in France.
I feel like it could have been better organized and still needed some editing, but I read an ARC. I imagine those things will be fixed by the time the book releases.
This book was definitely readable for a scholarly work, though; and I think would be of interest to many who want to learn more about Russian history...particulary of the exiles.


Thanks to NetGalley annd the publisher for my complimentary copy; all opinions are my own.

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