NEW BOOK: The Other Grand Dukes – Sons and Grandsons of Russia's Grand Dukes

One year, six issues of Eurohistory and three books! – No wonder I'm exhausted!

Yet it is with great delight that we have reached this milestone and as I hold to cover jacket of THE OTHER GRAND DUKES, it now becomes quite real ... the books arrival here at Eurohistory is just weeks away!

Arturo E. Beéche, founder and publisher of The European Royal History Journal, thought of the idea for an anthology on Russia’s GrandDuchesses. That book was published eight years ago and since then it has received wide attention and praise. Consequently, a companion book on the Russian Grand Dukes became imperative. The Grand Dukes: Sons and Grandsons of Russia’s Tsars Since Paul I examines the biographies of nearly forty men whose birth gave them the right to one of the world’s most prestigious positions. All sons of Russian tsars are covered in Volume I. The sons of collateral grand ducal branches are covered in Volume II.

The biography of each of the Grand Dukes of Russia brings to life a deeply gripping human saga. These men were born into what then was one of the world’s most powerful ruling dynasties. They were not all saints; they were not all demons – they were men whose birth showered them with untold privilege. Some used their birthright for the common good; some did not. Yet, they allremain amazingly intriguing, complex, complicated and conflicted human beings. At birth they were showered with untold privilege, including a lump sum of money placed in trust for them. By the time these funds were made available to a Grand Duke, the interest alone made them amazingly wealthy. Added to thisbenefit, they derived salaries from their military appointments, investments, real estate and inheritance. Thus, the Grand Dukes were able to maintain a lifestyle only surpassed by today’s oligarchs and yesteryear’s robber barons. They were consummate spenders in paintings, art, architecture, jewels, all while acting as sponsors of talented writers, thinkers, poets, ballerinas, among many others. One was a playwright of considerable talent. Another played a role in working toward the liberation of the serfs. One was a leading admiral with a fondness for “fast women and slow ships.” Another Grand Duke lived a tortured existence as a closeted homosexual, yet became the father of nine children. Told in a two-volume set, this is their story.

Participating in this extensive research project were some oftoday’s best-known royalty authors. They included: Charles Stewart, awell-known and respected royal anthropologist, as well as one of the world’s leading experts in the rules that governed the lives of European royalty; Janet Ashton, a
well-known contributor to royalty magazines and published from the United Kingdom; Zoia Belyakova, a well-known Russian scholar with countless books to her name; Lisa Davidson, one of the leading forces behind The Alexander Palace Time Machine (www.alexanderpalace.org); Coryne Hall, a highly-respected royal author with several books and countless articles to her name; Ilana Miller, a Pepperdine University faculty member, who happens to be a leading expert on the Grand Dukes of Hesse and By Rhine; Greg King, one of today’s most talented royal biographers; Marlene Eilers-Koenig, a well-known expert on royalty and the descendants of Queen Victoria; William Lee, a university professor fromOregon with a deep love of Russia and its culture; John van der Kiste, easily the most prolific royalty author of today; Grant Hayter-Menzies, a talentedwriter and contributor to historical journals; Penny Wilson, a well-known writer and expert on the Romanovs. Finally, Arturo E. Beéche, whose vision and guidance is responsible for the royalty epicenter that
Eurohistory.com has become.

Inside THE OTHER GRAND DUKES, readers will find a wealth of information included in these chapters:

        Foreword  

A Word from the Publisher

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter I – The Sons of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich

Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich

Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich

Chapter II – The Son of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich

Chapter III – The Grandson of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich

Chapter IV – The Son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich

Chapter V – The Sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich

Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich

Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich

Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich

Chapter VI – The Sons of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich Junior

Grand Duke Peter Nikolaievich

Chapter VII – The Sons of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich

Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

Grand Duke Serge Mikhailovich

Grand Duke Alexis Mikhailovich

Endnotes Notes     

Bibliography

Name Index

Photo Section (69 images)    

Family Trees

Table #1: The Russian Imperial Family

Table #2: The Vladimirovichi and Pavlovich Lines

Table #3: The Konstantinovichi Line

Table #4: The Nikolaievichi Line

Table #5: The Mikhailovichi Line

New Book: ROYAL GATHERINGS – Who is in the Picture, Volume 1

ROYAL GATHERINGS was inspired by an Eurohistory Magazine section, What's In a Photo, that has proven to be the publication's most popular feature. Co-authored by Ilana D. Miller and Arturo E. Beéche, it promises to be an excellent addition to Eurohistory's growing library of unique titles.   

Ranging from the overthrow of King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies in 1859 to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este in 1914, ROYAL GATHERINGS examines 38 group photos taken at various royalty get-togethers between those years. Each of the thirty-eight chapters focuses on one particular gathering. In each gathering the authors provided vignettes, or what Prince Michael of Greece calls "la petite histoire," on each of the royal personages featured in the chosen photograph. 

Besides written stories on each of the royalties present in any of the given group photos, the authors have also included many individual photos to accompany the text. The book contains more than 250 photos, as well as an extensive family tree that  includes most of the royalties discussed in the book. ROYAL GATHERINGS is 172-long glossy pages, hardbound.

AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0985460318

Exciting Publishing News: Eurohistory to Publish RUSSIA AND EUROPE

It is with much satisfaction and joy that Eurohistory announces a joint venture with Russian publisher Liki Rossii, publisher of some exquisite books about the Romanovs and the history of the Imperial family.

Our first joint effort is to be RUSSIA AND EUROPE: Dynastic Ties. Authored by Galina Korneva and T. Cheboksarova, renowned Russian  historians and prolific authors.

Liki Rossii describes their book as:

"The book includes fascinating stories of the life and tragic end of one of the most powerful and wealthy dynasties of the Romanovs (1613-1917) with more than 500 photographs collected from the main archives of Russia and European countries.

The vanished world of the Russian Imperial Family is still attractive in many of its aspects. Magnificent residences of the Romanovs, which were built by the best architects, and the extraordinary collections of fine arts they contained continue to attract authors and readers. For 80 years Russian archives, which could be compared with undiscovered treasure mines, were closed to a wide range of specialists around the world. Foreign archives in turn were not available to Russian researchers. The authors of Russia and Europe worked in archives in Russia, Denmark, Germany, England, and the USA, identified previously unrecognized photographs contained in Russian resources and introduced them to the reader with extensive commentary on their origins.

The “language” of original photographs is sometimes able to tell more than pages of texts about the special world of royalty and the circle of nobility. The authors also used information from Russian and foreign periodicals, memoirs and special literature. Readers will find new and well-structured materials about the main events in the lives of the Romanovs and their relatives in Europe, the masters in all kinds of art who worked on commission of the sovereigns, the state and family visits of members of European dynasties and the prominent companies that started their businesses thanks to the support of rulers.

Two chapters about Germany and Denmark and their princesses who became Russian Empresses during this period. A few chapters are devoted to the descriptions of the two-way influences between Russia and Greece, Württemberg, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, countries where Russian Grand Duchesses lived as spouses of sovereigns."

Eurohistory's official book reviewer, renowned author Coryne Hall recently received a copy of the Russian-printed English edition of the book. Her review, which we share with you here, will also appear inside EuroHistory XC (December 2012).

Coryne tells us:

"Every now and then something comes along which is truly worth waiting for. This book was originally published in Russian and many of us having been waiting for the translation ever since – and it does not disappoint. “Russia and Europe” examines the ties between the 19th century Romanovs and the royal houses in Germany, Denmark and Greece with which they were allied by marriage. Although the book was written for Russians, every fan of the Romanovs will find something new and interesting in here. Palaces, trains, yachts and churches are all included in a real treasure trove of information.

The authors begin with Germany which, as the small German courts provided brides for many of the Grand Dukes, occupies the most space in the book. Wurttemberg, Baden, Hesse and Mecklenburg-Schwerin all have their place here, but there are also articles on the dawn of the automotive industry and the St Vladimir Brotherhood. We meet Romanovs about which less has been written – Vera of Württemberg, Elena Pavlovna and her family as well of course as Alix and Ella of Hesse and Victoria Melita.  The section on Anastasia Michaelovna is particularly interesting, covering not only Schwerin but the palaces of her relatives – Xenia’s palace in St Petersburg, Harax in the Crimea, and Borzhomi in the Caucasus.

Denmark comes next, concentrating of course on the family of the only Danish Empress, Marie Feodorovna, the former Princess Dagmar.  Much of this will be familiar to readers but it was nice to see a mention of the Kaiservilla at Fredensborg, which is less well-known, and also the Danish Ambassador, Harald Scavenius, who did so much to help the imprisoned Grand Dukes after the revolution.

The section on Greece concentrates on Queen Olga and her numerous family, including Queen Olga’s charity work, Strelna, Crete, Corfu and a lovely section on Grand Duchess Elena.

The illustrations, mostly taken from archives in Moscow and St Petersburg, are outstanding. It is really hard to pick out a highlight but for me it has to be the picture of Grand Duchess Elena sitting with her dolls – who are almost as big as the Grand Duchess herself.  Some of the photographs will be familiar to western readers but others will not.

This is an outstanding book, with detailed family trees, a huge bibliography and, rare in foreign books, an index. A “must” for all devotees of the Romanovs!"

RUSSIA AND EUROPE will be our first book of 2013 and if all goes according to schedule, it will be  one of six books Eurohistory plans to print in 2013, as we begin our business plan to focus more on newer, unique, in-house produced titles instead of used books. 

Of course, we will continue publication of our magazine as well. Eurohistory will celebrate 16 years of publication next year and we are fast approaching the 100th edition of a highly respected and widely supported magazine, now with subscribers in all continents and more than 70 countries!

Exciting news indeed!