The Tragic Bride by V. Poliakoff (Augur) - 1927: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia

Over a century after the death of Alexandra Feodorovna (1872- 1918) the last Empress of Russia as the consort of Emperor Nicholas II, her story still has the power to astound and intrigue. The granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdon, she like her grandmother, was one of the most famous royal carriers of hemophilia – which played a significant role in her faith in the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin. Since Queen Victoria favored "Alix" she was opposed to the match to Nicholas as she worried Alix would not be safe in Russia – later proving very true. While there have been many books and movies in pop culture about the Empress, this historically accurate book written less than ten years after her death is a fascinating must read.

Condition: Beautiful dark purple moiré silk cloth boards with the title and author in gold gilt on the spine and cover, and with the Russian Empire coat of arms to the front board, are in very nice condition with some cosmetic blemishes but little wear. The spine is sun faded but has little wear to the top and bottom back strip. Slight rubbing along the front and rear gutter edge. All corners have slight bumping and wear at the tips. Spine is straight with no cracking at the endpapers, hinges are strong. The overall text block is solid with all pages firmly attached but with rough edges along the front and bottom. Age tanning and light foxing throughout. Interior text pages are clean with no tears, cracks, or previous owner marks. Illustrated with color frontispiece, and 14 illustrations on 11 plates.

Vladimir Poliakoff (1864 – 1956) was born into a well-to-do southern Russian family. He studied railway engineering and in the earlier part of World War I served in the Russian Army but after the Bolshevik Revolution he escaped to Britian. It was there he began his writing career under the pen name of "Augur" with articles that appeared in many countries. He wrote for the Daily Telegraph and then joined the Times of London where he served for twelve years. He resigned to give himself more freedom to instruct public opinion on his main theme – the danger of a resurgent Germany. He was the author of an exclusive, thrice-a-week Diplomatic Letters, "over which every embassy in London pores" and the author of numerous books about Russia.