Literary preferences of members of the royal family: Who was the idol of the Tsarevich, what they read in the evenings, and which book was the last
Literary preferences of members of the royal family: Who was the idol of the Tsarevich, what they read in the evenings, and which book was the last

Video: Literary preferences of members of the royal family: Who was the idol of the Tsarevich, what they read in the evenings, and which book was the last

Video: Literary preferences of members of the royal family: Who was the idol of the Tsarevich, what they read in the evenings, and which book was the last
Video: All or Nothing: Sr. Clare Crockett (Full Movie) - YouTube 2024, November
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Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna
Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna

- such entries in the personal diary of Nicholas II made daily. Reading was an integral and very important part of the life of the royal family. The range of their interests covered both serious historical literature and entertainment novels.

The personal library of Nicholas II consisted of more than 15 thousand volumes. It was constantly replenished. For this, Vasily Vasilyevich Shcheglov, the Head of His Imperial Majesty's own library, monthly selected for the emperor a couple of dozen of the most important book novelties of the month. The attitude towards these books was very serious:

Library in the Hermitage
Library in the Hermitage

The upbringing of the children of the royal family included, without fail, acquaintance with the classical works of famous historians. In her youth Alexandra Feodorovna studied Raumer's History of the Hohenstaufens in nine volumes, The Reformation of Literature by Guizot, and The Life of Cromwell. The emperor also preferred to read historical writings. They were able to pass on this respect for history to their children. The Grand Duchess Olga loved most of all books about the reign of Catherine II, the idol of Tsarevich Alexei was Peter I.

Emperor reading a newspaper
Emperor reading a newspaper

However, in addition to "food for the mind", literature was also an outlet for all members of the royal family, an opportunity to spend time in the family circle. They preferred quiet joint evenings to noisy receptions. At such a time, having gathered in the private chambers of Alexandra Feodorovna, everyone went about their business - sewing, needlework, read aloud.

The maid of honor and the Empress's friend Anna Vyrubova wrote in her memoirs:

The royal family in private chambers
The royal family in private chambers

For family evenings, the emperor often chose works by Russian authors - Tolstoy, Turgenev, Leskov, Chekhov, or lighter literature - novels, fiction. The Empress in her diaries mentions reading The Dogs of the Baskervilles and Dracula, the works of Maeterlinck, Dumas, Alphonse Daudet. By the way, Nicholas II read in many languages: Russian, English, French, Danish and German.

Grand Duchess Tatiana wrote to Z. S. Tolstoy:

Family at the bedside of Tsarevich Alexei
Family at the bedside of Tsarevich Alexei

The royal family did not change their habits even in the most difficult days. A lot of references to spiritual literature date back to this time. Among the last entries in Alexandra Feodorovna's diary is the following:

Photo of the royal family
Photo of the royal family

The events of 1917 forever divided the history of Russia into two periods - "Before" and "After". "An interesting selection of pre-revolutionary photographs by Karl Bull" takes us "back to the past."

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