Rasputin

'THE GOLD STANDARD OF NARRATIVE HISTORY' - DAN SNOW How could a barely literate peasant from Siberia determine the fate of the world? Undoubtedly, the so-called 'mad monk' Rasputin bewitched Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. Yet their strange and scandalous relationship conceals a riddle , one that casts an intriguing light on the controversial 'great man' theory of history. Rasputin was a devoted monarchist, not a revolutionary. He had no official position, no forces at his command. Nevertheless, he contributed more to the fall of the Romanov dynasty than any other individual. So demoralised was the Tsarist officer corps by stories of corruption, to say nothing of the rumours of his debauchery with the Empress - and even her daughters - that when the February Revolution broke out, not a sword was raised in defence of the regime. Just as Rasputin cast a spell over the Romanovs, his legend has bewitched historians. More than a century later, we still fail to comprehend fully the collapse of the greatest autocracy on Earth. Was there any truth to the wild tales that brought down the empire? Or was his true legacy an unsettling lesson on the potency of myth?

ANTONY BEEVOR's previous book was Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921. Earlier works include Stalingrad, Berlin, D-Day, The Battle for Spain and The Second World War. His writing, which has received major prizes, has appeared in thirty-seven languages and sold more than nine million copies. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Historical Society, he has received honorary doctorates and fellowships from five universities. He was knighted in 2017.