The Romanovs: 1613-1918The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the worlds surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war ruined principality into the worlds greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiores gripping chronicle reveals their secret