Another era, another world
Nicholas II and his consort Empress Alexandra, or more correctly, the Tsar and Tsarina in their lifetime, and their tragic deaths, and those of their five children represented to some a crashing regime, doomed to failure, and to others a loving couple, who would have preferred a simpler life as minor royals, rather than the rulers of one-sixth of the globe, were passionate lovers - their love letters show a rare physical passion, and their love for Russia, even the romanticized paternalism of another era is fascinating, as it held them apart from the forces around them. This volume shows the luxury of the palaces with the very simple and homespun late Edwardian life they lived. Some, forgetting that Alexandra was Queen Victoria's favorite granddaughter, will be surprised to see the flowering chintez, the dark woodwork and gasp, machine cut furniture in the private rooms. But, above all their love of Russian and for each other and their children held a religous fervor benefiting an Orthodox Tsar. Isolated from the realities around them, often by courtiers, fate dealt them a fatal blow, but the values of love of God, and patriotism and duty that defined their lives, make this a rare glimpse into a very private world.