Praise for Virgina Cowles ‘Splendidly readable’ The Sunday Times March 1917. Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, is forced to abdicate the throne. Sixteen months later he and his family are viciously murdered by Bolshevik provocateurs under mysterious circumstances. Though more than a century has passed since these events, the tragic history of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna continues to captivate readers. In The Last Tsar & Tsarina, Virginia Cowles offers a thrilling account of the ruler who never desired to wear the crown and the Germanic wife who pushed him to become his own man. From his childhood and indoctrination, to his marriage, coronation and murder, the life of Russia's most stoic tsar was guided by circumstances largely beyond his control. Although a devoted husband and father, Nicholas II proved to be a flawed statesman. His reign was a disastrous and bloody affair. Death awaited Nicholas and Alexandra in the chaos of the October Revolution. As the world around her began to crumble the Tsarina wrote: ‘Our souls are at peace. Whatever happens will be through God’s Will.’ But did the royal couple deserve such a brutal fate? Virginia Cowles depicts the story as a great unfolding tragedy, for both Russia and its rulers, with a cast list including Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and Rasputin. Recommended for fans of Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Orlando Figes and Robert Service. Praise for Virgina Cowles ’One of the most delightful books I have read. Miss Cowles has given us a tour-de-force, well researched, comprehensive, frank … [it] abounds in amazing stories of extraordinary personalities’ Books and Bookmen Virginia Cowles (1912-83) was a renowned American journalist and biographer of historical figures, including Winston Churchill and David Stirling, a founding member of the SAS. Initially covering fashion and society, Cowles made the transition to war correspondent, covering first the Spanish Civil War and then the Second World War, reporting from all over Europe, her service in this was recognised by the British with an OBE in 1947.