Peter I

I am new to LibraryThing. I'm very fond of reading Russian novels and poetry, but more recently I am going further into Russian history. I've just finished Peter the Great by Troyat, and am now reading Peter the Great by Klyuchevsky. I have Peter the Great by Massie, but was wondering whether that's the next logical step. Is there a better treatment of the subject? Does anyone have any other recommendations? Thank you.

Massie tends to be more reliable than Troyat. Troyat is very fond of sensationalism (he buys into the ridiculous 'horse' theory of Catherine the Great's death, for instance).

Try Lindsey Hughes's Russia in the Age of Peter the Great. Massie is great as well.

I picked up by chance a copy of Boris Godunov by Ian Grey a while back. Amazing what you can pick up in charity shops.

John

On a related-but-only-somewhat note, if you want good Catherine the Great or Ivan the Terrible books, Isabel de Madariaga is brilliant.

(As came up in another thread, I have never understood why it's "okay" to anglicise the names of foreign rulers and artists. *headshake* Yekaterina, Pyotr, Nikolai, Lev, Aleksandr etc. are the more accurate transliterations of the cyrillic... and yet in school we are taught to call them Catherine, Peter, Nicholas, Leo, Alexander... why? Is it THAT hard to say "Nikolai?" Lev-->Leo is the worst, though, as the two names don't even have the same root or meaning. x.x)

I have been waiting for Isabel de Madariaga's Russia in the Age of Ivan the Terrible to come out in paperback. I'm also looking to pick up her Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great as well.

Just another couple of the many that I would like if I see them, but don't specifically order, as otherwise book buying might get out of control!

John