Description

A TLS and Prospect Book of the Year

From the internationally bestselling author of Four Sisters comes the story of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought refuge in Belle Epoque Paris.

From the time of Peter the Great, Paris was the playground of the tsarist aristocracy. But the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917 forced Russians of all types to flee their homeland. Leaving with only the clothes on their backs, many came to France’s glittering capital. Paris was no longer an amusement, but a refuge.

There, former princes could be seen driving taxicabs, while their wives found work in the fashion houses, where their unique Russian style inspired designers such as Coco Chanel. Talented intellectuals, artists, poets, philosophers, and writers eked out a living at menial jobs, while others found great success. Nijinsky, Diaghilev, Bunin, Chagall, and Stravinsky joined Picasso, Hemingway, James Joyce, and Gertrude Stein in the creative crucible of the Annees folles.

Politics as much as art absorbed the emigres. Activists sought to overthrow the Bolshevik regime from afar, while double agents plotted espionage and assassination from both sides. Others became trapped in a cycle of poverty and their all-consuming homesickness for Russia, the land they had been forced to abandon.

This is their story.

Publisher Review

'The top-notch historian Helen Rappaport brings to life the world of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought refuge in belle epoque Paris. Plotting, gossip, homesickness, and champagne.' -- Robbie Millen * The Times * 'Entertaining and, at times, heart-wrenching ... Rappaport, a prolific historian and highly regarded Romanov expert, unveils a Paris in which Russians had long played a prominent role.' -- Douglas Smith * Wall Street Journal * 'Traces the Russian encounter with Paris from the city's glittering years as an expat playground before World War I to the grimmer reality of life in exile after the Bolshevik seizure of power.' -- Rebecca Reich * New York Times Book Review * 'Throughout, [Helen Rappaport], a consummate historian, displays her deep research into the era, the city, and its denizens. A culturally vibrant account of Russians uprooted to Paris during a tumultuous time.' * Kirkus Reviews * 'Read Rappaport's excellent book to develop a better sense of why they did what they did, and what became of the people who helped shape the Russia of old. What a story.' -- John Tamny * Forbes * 'An engaging group biography ... Rappaport is a mistress of the telling detail.' * Washington Post * 'Full of colourful anecdotes and sharp character sketches, this breezy account of life in exile entertains.' * Publishers Weekly * 'Memoirs and literature deftly round out [Rappaport's] historical reporting to create a vivid picture of the wrenching life change that thousands of Russians underwent ... This narrative nonfiction will appeal to those interested in Russian history, especially the Russian Revolution, and to readers of historical fiction by authors like Ken Follett or Marie Benedict.' -- Laurie Unger Skinner * Library Journal * 'A thorough and extremely well-researched examination of the Russian experience in Paris before and after the Bolshevik uprising on 1917 ... those interested in exploring a variety of unique perspectives on the Russian Revolution will find a wealth of information within these pages.' -- Lucy Roehrig * Booklist * 'Rappaport's engaging prose and prodigious research makes After the Romanovs a touching and enlightening experience ... In this detailed history, Russian nobility and intelligentsia, fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution, wrestle with poverty and memories of a rosier life.' -- Peggy Kurkowski * Shelf Awareness * Praise for Four Sisters: 'One of the greatest skills a historian can possess is to make readers feel as if they have stepped back in time to witness the characters, places, and events they describe. In her stunning composite biography, Helen Rappaport achieves this to dazzling and, at times, almost unbearably poignant effect.' -- Tracy Borman * BBC History Magazine * Praise for Four Sisters: 'The public spoke of the sisters in a genteel, superficial manner, but Rappaport captures sections of letters and diary entries to showcase the sisters' thoughtfulness and intelligence. Readers will be swept up in the author's leisurely yet informative narrative as she sheds new light on the lives of the four daughters.'STARRED REVIEW * Publishers Weekly * 'The depth of the research is impressive, and the scope of the book is ambitious. Rappaport successfully traces those first Belle Epoque artists and royals, those who were forced to flee with nothing during the revolution, and their experiences through World War I and beyond.' * Bookreporter * 'Vivid and harrowing.' * Air Mail * 'Rappaport's stories beg to be shared. Her reader comes out wiser.' -- David Herkt * The New Zealand Herald * 'One of the effects of the Romanov dynasty's fall in 1917 was a flood of Russian refugees into Europe, including the arrival of aristocrats, artists, writers, and intellectuals who landed in Paris at the height of the city's creative ferment. Helen Rappaport tells their stories with marvelous skill and empathy.' * Christian Science Monitor * 'Enlivening, enlightening detail is Rappaport's fotre. Her Petrograd book is stuffed full of such anecdotes, but After the Romanovs is a worthy competitor.' -- Mark Thomas * The Canberra Times * Praise for The Race to Save the Romanovs: 'Excellent ... Helen Rappaport, one of today's leading experts on the last Romanovs, has dug deeply in archives around the world and uncovered a wealth of new information that is certain to make The Race to Save the Romanovs the definitive work on the subject ... thanks to her excellent book, she has put to rest the fallacy that any one person could have saved the last Romanovs, either from the Bolsheviks or from themselves.' -- Douglas Smith * The Los Angeles Review of Books * Praise for The Race to Save the Romanovs: 'Absolutely marvellous.' -- Peter Frankopan Praise for The Race to Save the Romanovs: 'Highly entertaining ... [Rappaport] is a vivid storyteller.' * The Sunday Times * Praise for The Race to Save the Romanovs: 'Devastating, complex, and fast-moving ... This is a well-researched account of a colourful, suspenseful, and tragic series of events.' * Publishers Weekly * Praise for Caught in the Revolution: 'Gripping, vivid, deeply researched, [and] superbly narrated.' -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and bestselling author of The Romanovs 1613 - 1918 Praise for Caught in the Revolution: 'Narrative history at its very best.' * BBC History Magazine * Praise for The Race to Save the Romanovs: 'Groundbreaking.' * The Daily Telegraph * Praise for No Place for Ladies: 'Poignant and inspirational, well researched yet thoroughly readable, No Place for Ladies is the untold story of war, love, death - and the brave women, from nurses to countesses, who went out to the Crimea.' -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and bestselling author of The Romanovs 1613-1918