Best Selling Books by Helen Rappaport

Historian Helen Rappaport brings the four daughters of the last Tsar to life in their own words, illuminating the opulence of their doomed world and their courage as they faced a terrible end.

Commandant Yakov Yurovsky took control of a closely guarded house in the Russian town of Ekaterinburg. His prisoners were the Imperial family: the former Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra and their children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey. Thirteen days later, the family was gunned down. This is the story of those murders.

Rappaport, an expert in the field of Russian history, brings you the riveting day-by-day account of the last fourteen days of the Russian Imperial family, in this first of two books about the Romanovs. Her second book The Romanov Sisters, offering a never-before-seen glimpse at the lives of the Tsar''s beautiful daughters and a celebration of their unique stories, will be published in 2014. The brutal murder of the Russian Imperial family on the night of July 16–17, 1918 has long been a defining moment in world history. The Last Days of the Romanovs reveals in exceptional detail how the conspiracy to kill them unfolded. In the vivid style of a TV documentary, Helen Rappaport reveals both the atmosphere inside the family''s claustrophobic prison and the political maneuverings of those who wished to save—or destroy—them. With the watching world and European monarchies proving incapable of saving the Romanovs, the narrative brings this tragic story to life in a compellingly new and dramatic way, culminating in a bloody night of horror in a cramped basement room.

In this international bestseller investigating the murder of the Russian Imperial Family, Helen Rappaport embarks on a quest to uncover the various plots and plans to save them, why they failed, and who was responsible. The murder of the Romanov family in July 1918 horrified the world, and its aftershocks still reverberate today. In Putin''s autocratic Russia, the Revolution itself is considered a crime, and its anniversary was largely ignored. In stark contrast, the centenary of the massacre of the Imperial Family was commemorated in 2018 by a huge ceremony attended by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. While the murders themselves have received major attention, what has never been investigated in detail are the various plots and plans behind the scenes to save the family—on the part of their royal relatives, other governments, and Russian monarchists loyal to the Tsar. Rappaport refutes the claim that the fault lies entirely with King George V, as has been the traditional view for the last century. The responsibility for failing the Romanovs must be equally shared. The question of asylum for the Tsar and his family was an extremely complicated issue that presented enormous political, logistical and geographical challenges at a time when Europe was still at war. Like a modern day detective, Helen Rappaport draws on new and never-before-seen sources from archives in the US, Russia, Spain and the UK, creating a powerful account of near misses and close calls with a heartbreaking conclusion. With its up-to-the-minute research, The Race to Save the Romanovs is sure to replace outdated classics as the final word on the fate of the Romanovs.

"An excellent account of Lenin''s formative years as a political exile from tsarist Russia that evokes the desperate scene of the European radical underground with nuance and in engaging detail."--"Seattle Times"

On 17 July 1918, four young women were all brutally murdered, together with their parents and their thirteen-year-old brother. Their crime: to be the daughters of the last Tsar and Tsaritsa of All the Russias. Helen Rappaport offers readers the most authoritative account yet of Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Drawing on their own letters and diaries, she paints a vivid picture of their lives in the dying days of the Romanov dynasty. Compellingly readable, Four Sisters gives these young women a voice, and allows their story to resonate for readers almost a century after their death.

As she did in her critically acclaimed The Last Days of the Romanovs, Helen Rappaport brings a compelling documentary feel to the story of this royal marriage and of the queen''s obsessive love for her husband – a story that began as fairy tale and ended in tragedy. After the untimely death of Prince Albert, the queen and her nation were plunged into a state of grief so profound that this one event would dramatically alter the shape of the British monarchy. For Britain had not just lost a prince: during his twenty year marriage to Queen Victoria, Prince Albert had increasingly performed the function of King in all but name. The outpouring of grief after Albert''s death was so extreme, that its like would not be seen again until the death of Princess Diana 136 years later. Drawing on many letters, diaries and memoirs from the Royal Archives and other neglected sources, as well as the newspapers of the day, Rappaport offers a new perspective on this compelling historical psychodrama--the crucial final months of the prince''s life and the first long, dark ten years of the Queen''s retreat from public view. She draws a portrait of a queen obsessed with her living husband and – after his death – with his enduring place in history. Magnificent Obsession will also throw new light on the true nature of the prince''s chronic physical condition, overturning for good the 150-year old myth that he died of typhoid fever.

To Queen Victoria she was Aunt Julie; to Catherine the Great she was Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, granddaughter-in-law. This is the story of Princess Juliane-Henriette-Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg, the Rebel Romanov. Born in 1781 in a small impoverished duchy of Germany, Julie''s quiet life took a fairy-tale turn when she married into the Russian Imperial Family - the Romanovs. But this world of baroque splendour, of opulent palaces and grandeur, was no happily ever after. Taken to Russia at just fourteen, her marriage was hastily brokered to save the Saxe-Coburg duchy from financial ruin. Her husband, Grand Duke Konstantin, was cruel and abusive, Julie was uprooted from her home, family, language and culture. As Russia and Europe were thrown into tumult by the murder of Emperor Paul and the rise of Napoleon, Julie finally made her escape back to Germany, where she lived for two decades as a social pariah, denied a divorce by the Imperial Family. Forced to give up two illegitimate children to protect her family''s honour, she eventually built a life for herself in Switzerland, where she entertained poets and philosophers, regaling them with tales from the Russian court. Helen Rappaport recreates the extraordinary life of this forgotten figure. In doing so she sheds new light on the Romanovs, reveals the sacrifices Julie made to further her family''s interests - her brother became king of Belgium, her sister gave birth to Queen Victoria - and investigates the true nature of Julie''s relationship with Tsar Alexander I. Rich in history, drama and royal intrigue, Julie''s remarkable story is told at last.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes a gripping portrait of a St. Petersburg (then named Petrograd), at the outbreak of the Russian revolution.

From Helen Rappaport, the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes After the Romanovs, the story of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought freedom and refuge in the City of Light. Paris has always been a city of cultural excellence, fine wine and food, and the latest fashions. But it has also been a place of refuge for those fleeing persecution, never more so than before and after the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanov dynasty. For years, Russian aristocrats had enjoyed all that Belle Époque Paris had to offer, spending lavishly when they visited. It was a place of artistic experimentation, such as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. But the brutality of the Bolshevik takeover forced Russians of all types to flee their homeland, sometimes leaving with only the clothes on their backs. Arriving in Paris, former princes could be seen driving taxicabs, while their wives who could sew worked for the fashion houses, their unique Russian style serving as inspiration for designers like Coco Chanel. Talented intellectuals, artists, poets, philosophers, and writers struggled in exile, eking out a living at menial jobs. Some, like Bunin, Chagall and Stravinsky, encountered great success in the same Paris that welcomed Americans like Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Political activists sought to overthrow the Bolshevik regime from afar, while double agents from both sides plotted espionage and assassination. Others became trapped in a cycle of poverty and their all-consuming homesickness for Russia, the homeland they had been forced to abandon. This is their story.

On 23 February 1854, the Scots Fusilier Guards marched past Buckingham Palace resplendent in full regalia en route to the Crimea, as Queen Victoria bowed and waved proudly from the balcony. Day after day, there were anxious farewells as husbands, sons, and fathers set off to war, leaving their women to face a bleak and uncertain future. Schoolchildren learn the story of Florence Nightingale who heroically tended the sick during the Crimean War. But she was not the only woman to play her part. Numerous women from all social classes were actively engaged in the war, often in the most surprising ways. Based on dozens of rare and often unpublished accounts, No Place for Ladies is a rich, colourful and fascinating picture of very different women at war.

Organized for easy reference, the book quickly takes the reader to specific aspects of the monarch''s life, her children, her court, her companions, her prime ministers, her personal interests and preoccupations, the issues that marked her reign, and the people whose lives were affected by their relationships with her."--BOOK JACKET.

To get to the top, Joseph Stalin outmaneuvered Lenin, Trotsky, Kirov, and a legion of equally ruthless revolutionaries. This accessible and easy to read reference work reveals the more personal side of the Machiavellian mastermind, who not only orchestrated the Great Terror but also forged the USSR into a world power. Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion offers balanced coverage and makes use of new information from Soviet archives, while at the same time avoids mind-numbing communist jargon and terminology. Also included are scores of rare illustrations, some never before published in the West.

The first comprehensive guide to women activists from every part of the world, illuminating the broad range of women''s struggles to reform society from the 18th century to the present. Despite being marginalized, disenfranchised, impoverished, and oppressed, women have always stepped forward in disproportionate numbers to lead movements for social change. This two-volume encyclopedia documents the visions, struggles, and lives of women who have changed the world. This encyclopedia celebrates the lives and achievements of nearly 300 women from around the globe—women who have bravely insisted that the way things are is not the way they have to be. Nadeshda Krupskaya, the wife of Lenin, spearheaded the drive against illiteracy in post-revolutionary Russia. American Dorothy Day founded the Catholic worker movement. Begum Rokeya Hossain organized a girls'' school in Calcutta in 1911. Rachel Carson launched the modern environmental movement with her book Silent Spring. The stories of these women and the hundreds of others collected here will restore missing pages to our history and inspire a new generation of women to change the world.

A “thoroughly enjoyable” account of the English scientist and the French artist, each toiling alone, who invented modern photography (The Wall Street Journal). During the 1830s, in an atmosphere of intense scientific inquiry fostered by the industrial revolution, two quite different men—one in France, one in England—developed their own dramatically different photographic processes in total ignorance of each other’s work. These two lone geniuses—Henry Fox Talbot in the seclusion of his English country estate at Lacock Abbey and Louis Daguerre in the heart of post-revolutionary Paris—through diligence, disappointment, and sheer hard work overcame extraordinary odds to achieve the one thing man had for centuries been trying to do—to solve the ancient puzzle of how to capture the light and in so doing make nature “paint its own portrait.” With the creation of their two radically different processes—the Daguerreotype and the Talbotype—these two giants of early photography changed the world and how we see it. Drawing on a wide range of original, contemporary sources and featuring plates in color, sepia, and black and white, many of them rare or previously unseen, Capturing the Light charts an extraordinary tale of genius, rivalry, and human resourcefulness in the quest to produce the world’s first photograph. “Energetically written and deftly paced . . . gripping popular history.” —Publishers Weekly

From New York Times bestselling author Helen Rappaport comes a superb and revealing biography of Mary Seacole that is testament to her remarkable achievements and corrective to the myths that have grown around her. Raised in Jamaica, Mary Seacole first came to England in the 1850s after working in Panama. She wanted to volunteer as a nurse and aide during the Crimean War. When her services were rejected, she financed her own expedition to Balaclava, where her reputation for her nursing—and for her compassion—became almost legendary. Popularly known as ‘Mother Seacole’, she was the most famous Black celebrity of her generation—an extraordinary achievement in Victorian Britain. She regularly mixed with illustrious royal and military patrons and they, along with grateful war veterans, helped her recover financially when she faced bankruptcy. However, after her death in 1881, she was largely forgotten. More recently, her profile has been revived and her reputation lionised, with a statue of her standing outside St Thomas''s Hospital in London and her portrait—rediscovered by the author—now on display in the National Portrait Gallery. In Search of Mary Seacole is the fruit of almost twenty years of research and reveals the truth about Seacole''s personal life, her "rivalry" with Florence Nightingale, and other misconceptions. Vivid and moving, In Search of Mary Seacole shows that reality is oftem more remarkable and more dramatic than the legend.

The official companion to the Masterpiece presentation on PBS, Victoria delves into the private writings of the young Queen Victoria, painting a vivid picture of the personal life of one of England’s greatest monarchs. From the producers of Poldark and Endeavour, ITV’s Victoria follows the early years of the young queen’s reign, based closely on Victoria’s own letters and journals. Now explore this extensive collection in greater depth, and discover who Victoria really was behind her upright public persona. At only eighteen years old, Victoria ascended the throne as a rebellious teenager and gradually grew to become one of the most memorable, unshakeable and powerful women in history. The extensive writings she left behind document this personal journey and show how she triumphed over scandal and corruption. Written by author and Victoria historical consultant, Helen Rappaport, and including a foreword by Daisy Goodwin—acclaimed novelist and scriptwriter of the series—Victoria details the history behind the show. Revealing Victoria’s own thoughts about the love interests, family dramas and court scandals during her early reign, it also delves into the running of the royal household, the upstairs-downstairs relationships, and what it was like to live in Victorian England. Full of beautiful photography from the series and genuine imagery from the era, Victoria takes you behind the palace doors and discover the girl behind the queen.

La historia, tan cautivadora como trágica, de Olga, Tatiana, María y Anastasia, hijas del último zar y las cuatro princesas más glamourosas de Europa. Cuatro preciosas jóvenes, tal vez las más admiradas y fotografiadas de la realeza de principios del siglo XX, objeto de incesantes rumores, nacidas en un mundo de glamour y opulencia, crecieron ajenas a su destino entre juegos, coqueteos con oficiales del ejército y mascotas... hasta la Primera Guerra Mundial y la Revolución. Pero ¿quiénes eran realmente, más allá de su imagen edulcorada de niñas bonitas con vestidos blancos y grandes sombreros? ¿Cuáles eran sus esperanzas personales, sus sueños y aspiraciones y cómo se relacionaban entre sí y con sus padres? ¿Cómo era su vida como parte de la familia imperial? Helen Rappaport coloca a las cuatro hermanas en el centro del escenario y, basándose en sus cartas, diarios y otras fuentes primarias hasta ahora no examinadas, reconstruye la fascinante personalidad de cada una de ellas, pero al mismo tiempo traza un impresionante retrato familiar y de la Rusia prerrevolucionaria. El 17 de julio de 1918, bajaron al sótano de una casa en Ekaterinburg. La mayor tenía veintidós años, la más joven tan solo diecisiete. Junto con sus padres y su hermano de trece años de edad, fueron brutalmente asesinadas. Su delito: ser las hijas del último zar. La crítica ha dicho... «Maravillosamente escrito. Una fascinante, profunda y comprehensiva investigación de las duquesas imperiales.» Daily Express «Desgarrador y muy bien escrito. El sensible retrato que hace Rappaport de las desafortunadas hermanas crea en el lector verdadero apego hacia cada una de ellas.» Mail on Sunday «Evocador y espléndidamente investigado y relatado, esto es historia narrativa en su máxima expresión.» Bookseller «Una reconstrucción amena y bien documentada de los últimos días de las hijas del zar Nicholas.» Telva «Los lectores se verán arrastrados por una narración tranquila pero elocuente mientras la autora arroja nueva luz sobre la vida de las cuatro hijas.» Publishers Weekly «Las hermanas Romanov recrea de manera sobresaliente la claustrofóbica atmósfera provocada por el amor maternal de Alejandra. Mediante unos conocimientos sólidos, un gran dominio de las fuentes primarias y grandes dosis de entusiasmo por el tema, ofrece un estudio consistente y demuestra con rotundidad la fuerza de los lazos familiares.» The Telegraph «Rappaport es una convincente biógrafa, excelente a la hora de sacar a la luz la humanidad de la historia, de ofrecer un fresco del pasado con todo su dramático detalle sin dejar de colocar a las personas en el primer plano de sus penetrantes retratos.» Lancashire Evening Post

A execução dos Romanov — a família do último czar da Rússia, Nicolau II —, em julho de 1918, é cercada de mitos e histórias macabras. Especialista em história russa, Helen Rappaport teve acesso aos depoimentos de várias testemunhas-chave. Ela revela o papel de Lenin na execução e mostra também como os Romanov e seus carcereiros desenvolveram uma relação complexa. Rappaport não poupa nenhum detalhe do fuzilamento que se tornou um massacre — foi necessário um pente inteiro de balas para matar o jovem filho de Nicolau — e do sórdido enterro dos corpos. Um trabalho poderoso de pesquisa.

De opvolger van het veelgeprezen De gezusters Romanov ''[Parijs] heeft er dankzij dit meeslepende boek een dimensie bij gekregen.'' ●●●● NRC Jarenlang genoten Russische aristocraten van al het moois dat het Parijs van de belle époque te bieden had. Met hun fortuin trokken zij naar Frankrijk om daar een luxeleven te leiden, en Parijs was dé plek voor artistieke en extravagante uitspattingen, zoals Diaghilevs Ballets Russes. Maar aan al dit genot kwam een einde toen de gewelddadige machtsovername door de bolsjewieken veel Russen dwong hun thuisland te verlaten, waarbij ze alles moesten achterlaten. Eenmaal aangekomen in Parijs moesten voormalig Russische prinsen banen aannemen als taxichauffeur, terwijl hun vrouwen gingen werken als naaisters bij de modehuizen, waarbij hun unieke Russische stijl als inspiratie diende voor ontwerpers als Coco Chanel. Getalenteerde Russische intellectuelen, kunstenaars en schrijvers vochten voor hun voortbestaan. Sommigen behaalden successen, zoals Bunin, Chagall en Stravinsky. Anderen zakten steeds verder weg in schulden en heimwee naar Rusland, het thuisland dat ze noodgedwongen hadden moeten verlaten. Op beeldende wijze en met oog voor detail vertelt Helen Rappaport hun verhaal. De pers over De Romanovs na de val: ''Rappaport beschrijft haar hoofdpersonen met empathie, maar ook met voldoende afstand. De opbouw van het boek en de soepele stijl van Rappaport nodigen uit tot vlot doorlezen.'' ●●●● NRC ''Rappaport schetst een veelzijdig beeld van hoe een aantal generaties Russische émigrés [...] met wisselend succes probeerde te aarden in Frankrijk.'' Trouw ''Interessant en soms hartverscheurend. Rappaport, een geslaagd historicus en hooggewaardeerd Romanov-expert, onthult het Parijs waarin de Russen lang een prominente rol speelden.'' The Wall Street Journal ''Dit boek volgt de Russische betrekkingen met Parijs, van de gloriejaren van de stad [...] voordat de Eerste Wereldoorlog begon, tot de grimmige realiteit van het leven in ballingschap na de bolsjewistische machtsovername.'' The New York Times ''Rappaport is een meester in rake, gedetailleerde beschrijvingen.'' The Washington Post De pers over De gezusters Romanov: ''Voortreffelijk geschreven, leest als een roman.'' NRC ''Helen Rappaport schreef een schitterend boek. Je kunt niet anders dan met een brok in de keel lezen hoe de familie de laatste maanden onontkoombaar naar het einde toe ging.'' ★★★★★ Het Parool

The official companion to ITV''s drama, ''The Victoria Letters'' delves into the private writings of the young Queen Victoria, painting a vivid picture of the personal life of one of England''s greatest monarchs.

Uma nova visão sobre a história da prisão e morte dos Románov — a historiadora Helen Rappaport narra em detalhes os vários planos que pretendiam resgatar a família real russa e explica por que todos eles falharam. Durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, quando a Revolução Russa de 1917 triunfou e a República Soviética da Rússia foi proclamada, o tsar Nicolau e sua família foram presos pelo novo Governo Provisório comunista. Pouco mais de um ano depois, em 17 de julho de 1918, todos os Románov foram assassinados. Em 2018, o centenário do massacre foi lembrado em uma grande cerimônia que reuniu mais de 100 mil pessoas em Ekaterinburg, demonstrando o impacto dessa trágica história até os dias atuais. Porém, uma faceta deste episódio nunca foi investigada em detalhes: os vários planos secretos para tirar os Románov da prisão, urdidos nos bastidores por parentes, outros governos e os monarquistas russos leais ao tsar. Neste livro, a historiadora Helen Rappaport refuta a alegação mais difundida de que a culpa foi do rei inglês Jorge V. Nesta corrida contra o tempo, muitas outras nações e indivíduos estavam envolvidos, todos enfrentando os mais variados obstáculos para levar a cabo essa difícil missão. Acolher o tsar e sua família era uma questão extremamente complicada, que apresentava enormes desafios políticos, logísticos e geográficos em um momento em que a Europa ainda estava em guerra. Para construir esse novo relato sobre a família Románov, a autora utilizou variadas fontes, rastreando documentos perdidos ou destruídos para remontar os planos que pretendiam libertar a família real por terra, mar e até pelo céu. A corrida para salvar os Románov revela os bastidores da política europeia — e suas rivalidades e traições — enquanto os Románov aguardavam seu destino. “Um estudo brilhante e sincero sobre os vários esforços empreendidos para salvar os Románov que, de forma muito inteligente, começa com uma corrida para salvá-los de si mesmos.” — Spectator “Arrebatador. Rappaport completou a história com várias peças, desde as disputas diplomáticas sobre o destino do tsar até uma série de planos de resgate absurdos elaborados por simpatizantes da monarquia.” — The Times

Em 17 de julho de 1918, quatro jovens mulheres desceram 32 degraus até o porão de uma casa em Ecaterimburgo, na Rússia. A mais velha tinha 22 anos e a mais nova, apenas dezessete. Junto com os pais e o irmão de treze anos, foram cruelmente assassinadas. Seus crimes: serem filhas do último tsar da Rússia. Muita coisa foi escrita sobre Nicolau II, sua mulher Alexandra e o trágico destino da família imperial, como também sobre a Revolução Russa de 1917, mas pouco se disse sobre o drama das princesas Romanov, que sempre foram vistas como personagens secundárias dessa trama. Em As irmãs Romanov, no entanto, a aclamada biógrafa Helen Rappaport traz a história delas para o centro da narrativa e oferece aos leitores o mais completo relato da vida das grã-duquesas Olga, Tatiana, Maria e Anastácia. Tendo por base as cartas e os diários das jovens e em fontes primárias nunca antes examinadas, Rappaport desenha um quadro vívido das irmãs nos últimos dias da dinastia Romanov. Seguimos as grã-duquesas desde o nascimento, passando pela infância superprotegida, até os anos de juventude — as primeiras paixões, os sonhos, a dificuldade de lidar com um irmão hemofílico e uma mãe cronicamente inválida — e, por fim, o trauma da Revolução e suas terríveis consequências. Com um texto instigante, baseado em uma pesquisa meticulosa, As irmãs Romanov dá voz a essas quatro jovens e é capaz de comover leitores um século depois de suas mortes trágicas e prematuras.