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Grigory Rasputin, the Siberian peasant-turned-mystic, was a man of immense contradictions. As the only person able to relieve the symptoms of hemophilia in the Tsar's heir Alexis, he gained almost hallowed status within the Imperial court. Yet he played the role of the simple man, eating with his fingers and boasting, "I don't even know the alphabet."
During the last decade of his life, he came to symbolize all that was decadent and remote about the Imperial Family--especially when it was rumored that he was not only shaping Russian policy during the First World War, but also enjoying an intimate relationship with the Tsarina.
Rasputin's role in the downfall of the tsarist regime is beyond dispute. But who was he really? Prophet or rascal?
In this unputdownable biography-which draws on new material, including an interview with one of the last people alive who actually saw Rasputin, as well as unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters-acclaimed historian Frances Welch turns her inimitable wry gaze on one of the most fascinating cyphers of Imperial Russia.
During the last decade of his life, he came to symbolize all that was decadent and remote about the Imperial Family--especially when it was rumored that he was not only shaping Russian policy during the First World War, but also enjoying an intimate relationship with the Tsarina.
Rasputin's role in the downfall of the tsarist regime is beyond dispute. But who was he really? Prophet or rascal?
In this unputdownable biography-which draws on new material, including an interview with one of the last people alive who actually saw Rasputin, as well as unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters-acclaimed historian Frances Welch turns her inimitable wry gaze on one of the most fascinating cyphers of Imperial Russia.