Writer, historian, TV talking head & consultant. Lover of English countryside & all things Victorian, Gothic & Imperial Russian. Specialist on Mary Seacole.
This Hilary Mantel quote beautifully encapsulates how I feel about writing history: 'I like putting my hand out to the dead & seeing who will take it...Nothing touches me so profoundly as the traces the dead have left; it's an intellectual fascination but also an emotional pull.'
Absolutely bowled over by this stunning portrait of the prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina by Alfred Eberling, who was a pupil of the great Russian master Repin.
How touching is this? One of our old villlagers - born locally and lived here all her life - was recently buried in our churchyard and this sweet robin floral tribute was placed on her grave. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
A sad day remembering my mum who died four years ago just short of her 100th birthday. I wouldn’t normally share such personal things but this photo taken by my brother is such a profoundly moving and accomplished portrait of old age that I wanted to share it
Embroidered batiste blouses worn by the
#Romanov
sisters in captivity March 1917-July 1918. Tonight 16/17 July they were savagely murdered in
#Ekaterinburg
with their brother and parents 104 years ago
The face of a fierce & indomitable fighter. Aunt Polly Jackson once enslaved, managed to escape via the Underground Railroad from the brutal working conditions forced upon her since birth. She settled in Ripley Ohio & dedicated rest of her life to helping others win their freedom
For me nothing surpasses this Jane Austen TV adaptation. It was pitch perfect in every aspect - script, casting, costumes, locations. British television at its very best.
Olga Romanova writes 1917: ‘Father asks us to remember that the evil which is now in the world will become stronger yet & that it is not evil which conquers evil but love ‘. I can’t think of a more appropriate epitaph & farewell to my lovely
#RomanovSisters
on 100th anniversary.
Dear
@NPGLondon
why have you totally airbrushed me out of your
#MarySeacole
panel? You would not have the portrait if I had not discovered it! And why on earth don’t you have my biography in yr shop for people wanting to know more about her & the painting’s discovery?
This week's
#TsarinaSaturday
is Maria Feodorovna's 1880-1 House of Fromont evening dress. It's made of satin, Brussel lace, and beads and kind of looks a little like a dress for a Disney villain.
#fashionhistory
#TheLastCzars
ep 3 infuriated me. Rasputin did not sexually molest Stolypin's injured daughter Anna! This is gross misrepresentation. He stood at bottom of bed holding an icon &praying & reassured she wd recover. Details of his true relationship with family in my Four Sisters
Mary is my 15th book but means more to me than any other as there were times I thought I’d never get it published. So proud to finally see it in print. Thank you
@simonschusterUK
for producing such a beautiful book
@PFDAgents
@seacolestatue
Absolutely stunned by this little known magnificent portrait of Nicholas II by great Russian painter Valentin Serov. N in uniform of Royal Scots Greys. Queen Victoria appointed him honorary Colonel in Chief in 1896. Currently on loan National Galleries of Scotland
@Romanovs100
Wow amazing unseen material just received from Russia that means I am going to be able to tell a previously untold royal story in ways it’s never been touched on in English before. Very excited. .....
Today in Ekaterinburg pilgrims are gathering for the annual solemn commemoration of the murder of the Romanovs on night 16/17 July 1918. I spent 12 years charting their story through 3 books and they will always have a place in my heart & my imagination
Nicholas II and Grand Duchesses Olga & Tatiana with officers of the Caspian 148th Infantry Regiment, named after Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna.
Tsarskoe Selo, 1914.
As a historian I was deeply disappointed in this film. I wanted to see Anning's work discovering fossils on Jurassic Coast and how she fought against being marginalised by the male scientific establishment. No this full on sex romp based on zilch evidence.
Maria Pavlovna fled Russia after the Revolution and worked in the Paris fashion business . She’s in my book After the Romanovs about Russian exiles in Paris
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia was born
#OnThisDay
in 1890. This c. 1905 white silk belted dress, embellished with embroidered tulle, stones and pearls, was owned and worn by Maria Pavlovna. The dress is labeled N. Lamanova, Moscow.
@sormlandsmuseum
#Royals
#Russia
#dress
Oh this is lovely! That’s the girls’ governess Sofia Tyutcheva on right hand side. She hated Rasputin and was sacked by Nicholas & Alexandra for spreading gossip about him
This absolutely touching photo of Nicholas II with his baby son Alexey was recently posted by a colleague on Facebook. Say what you will about his failings as a monarch, but how many images have you ever seen of an emperor dandling his son on his knee with so much love???
I'm curious as to why so much of the jewellery - especially the rings - are black . Any particular reason not to have coloured jewels
@NicolaTallis
? Are they jet or obsidian?
At last I can reveal my exclusive story on exciting & unexpected new DNA evidence that confirms that the Romanovs all died in Ekaterinburg. Time the ROC ceased prevaricating and announced their findings
Am touched beyond words by the extraordinary warm response to my mother’s photo. Thank you so much. It’s easy to forget that the elderly parents we remember at their deaths & whose frailty we never cease to grieve were once young & vibrant. This is c1939 - facing war & separation
I can’t think of the right words to sufficiently praise
#TimeBBC
. It was one of the most riveting and profoundly moving TV dramas I’ve ever seen. Sean Bean’s quiet and understated performance was the best thing he’s ever done
The influence of the Arts & Crafts Movement is reflected in this coat, made in England 1895-1900
@V_and_A
collections. Embroidered velvet with silks, satin & machine-made lace, retailed by Marshall & Snelgrove. V&A notes similarity to photographs in Worth archive
#fashionhistory
There's an article about new book of daguerrotypes of California Gold Rush sadly behind Telegraph paywall but here's one photo - my god these three are serious dudes. What a brilliant photograph!!
The poet Sergey Esenin (tousle-haired blonde one standing) and friends from the Agricultural Institute draping themselves decoratively over Pushkin's statue at Tsarskoe Selo c.1924 ... Hm those legs on the chap in the Greek tunic ... paging
@marinamaral2
Lord Mountbatten met her in 1910 when he was 10. He spoke of how the Romanov sisters were "lovely, & terribly sweet, far more beautiful than their photographs show. I was crackers about Marie & was determined to marry her. ... I keep her photograph in my bedroom — always have."
Grand Duchess Maria, the third daughter of the last Tsar of Russia and aged 13 here, in the uniform of the 9th Dragoon Kazan Maria Nikolaevna Regiment. 1912.
#History
#Russia
Starting tomorrow a fascinating new R4 series on Queen Victoria presented by
@Lucy_Worsley
. I will be appearing in episode 8 talking with Lucy about Prince Albert's health, his dramatic physical decline n 1861 & what really killed him.
@PFDAgents
15 years ago today I was in the Koptyaki Forest outside Ekaterinburg where the Romanovs’ bodies were dumped after their murder. This is one of 7 little churches there commemorating the family. And oh the birch trees!!!
Calling all Victorianists. It wd appear that these 2 photos frequently identified as the English courtesan Skittles are NOT her but in fact Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna. She was a brilliant horsewoman. Confirmed to me by direct descendant. Lot of pictures need relabelling!
An important new French film about the contribution of black Africans from their colonies to the French war effort in WWI. It is time their story was properly told. I hope there will be a release here with English sub-titles
Any other historians spent a whole day in tears in response to a vitriolic poisonous attack on their work by a jealous and bitter no hoper-no reputation reader? I'm sure you know the pack drill
@HallieRubenhold
but anyone else? How best to deal with them? I am distraught.
One late afternoon in autumn 1999 I toiled up the hill from village below to see this church. The light was going - dark dramatic skies and swirling mist descending but it was an extraordinary experience.
Tsarevich Alexey having an outdoor French lesson with his Swiss tutor Pierre Gilliard cannot conceal his profound boredom. Probably taken at Tsarskoe Selo c 1916
She was a princess born to privilege but aged only 14 was taken to Russia & married off to psychopath.On
#InternationalWomensDay
as I write Julie of Saxe Coburg's story I think of all the other innocent underage teenage brides in history sacrificed at altar of dynastic expediency
Here in Austin it’s time for a drink after 10 hour flight but previewing the exciting new
#Romanovs100
Interactive print edition also featuring great colorisation artwork by
@marinamaral2
@PFDAgents
My four lovely
#Romanov
sisters in their iconic white cotton and lace and big fluffy hats. They always seem at their most sweet and innocent dressed like this. With their governess Sofya Tyutcheva
I am truly thrilled and honoured to have just heard that I've been elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, alongside fellow historian
@sauldavid66
@PFDagents
The characteristically remote and austere beauty of
#AlexandraofHesse
perfectly captured in this portrait, probably taken before her marriage to
#NicholasII
in 1894
Easter Sunday and this is my church and birdsong is my choir and my little dog is my good companion. Time to recoup and reflect and wish with all my heart for a better world for all. Xx
Embroidered batiste blouses worn by the Russian grand duchesses in captivity. I find the sight of them utterly haunting and so poignant . Now on show in exhibition On Kast Days of Romanovs at Jordanville Monastery Upstate New York.
@PFDAgents
#Romanovs100
Exhibition "The Children of the Last Russian Emperor,
#OTMA
& Alexey" will run at St Petersburg Hermitage 19 May-10 September & am beyond sad that as Romanov historian I won't be able to see it. Originally intended I think to transfer Hermitage Amsterdam but that won't happen now
The scent of lilies, Ganina Yama,
#Ekaterinburg
17 July 2007. That morning I stood in front of the burial pit into which bodies of
#Romanov
family were thrown hours after their murder. It was planted with lilies & the aroma was totally overpowering. I'll never forget that moment.
If asked to name a British actor, how many would say Sir John Martin-Harvey? Born in Essex in 1863 he was a darling of the stage and early film, knighted in 1921 and now lost to obscurity. From his photographs he certainly looks quite the character!
Excited to to announce 2 book deal with
@StMartinsPress
NY. 1st will be 'White Russians in Paris 1919-1939: what it felt like be forced to flee Russia, dislocations of resettlement & how so many suffered poverty, sickness, isolation & never adjusted to separation from motherland.
Nothing quite so enchanting as photo of Romanov sisters in their signature sailor suits. I adore this one of Anastasia & Maria. Don't know date but would say c 1910? Looks as though it might have been taken on one of their holidays on the imperial yacht round Finnish skerries.
THREAD 1/: Extraordinary image via
@DrexelUniv
of Dr. Anandabai Joshee of India, Dr. Kei Okami of Japan, and Dr. Tabat M. Islambooly of Syria, classmates at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, each the first women from their countries to earn degrees in western medicine.
Emma Jones was wife of celebrated chef Alexis Soyer who reformed feeding of army and field kitchens in Crimea. Soyer was a great friend of Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole.
#fakeorfortune
The magnificent French artist Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun arrived St Petersburg 1795 & painted some of most exquisite portraits of female Russian aristocracy. The subject of my next book was one of them.
This/she is so engaging & just look at the dress detail
#fashionhistory
. 'Portrait of a Young Woman' painted in oil on canvas, Vigée Le Brun ca 1797
@mfaboston
. The unidentified Russian sitter is depicted as if in motion.
Well I always thought the
#RomanovSisters
were the greatest royal beauties, but goodness me, Princess Ileana of Romania (1909-91) was equally lovely. In 1961 she gave it all up & became a nun and set up a convent in Pennsylvania.
Netley Hospital, November 1917. A young painter, shellshocked, ravished by the dead, dresses, sits each day on the cold veranda, watches the slow movement of the clouds. A robin, stealing crumbs, begins to visit – bright holy song in the frost, medicine so old it has no name.
I was oreoccupied throughout by fact that Nicholas's beard was much too bushy
#irritatinghistoricalinaccuracies
The Last Czars, Netflix review: no bad wigs here – this Romanovs docu-drama has a Crown-sized budget via
@teletvradio
'As Helen Rappaport writes in her brilliant history The Race to Save the Romanovs,....' Well I do at least get an acknowledgment in long Telegraph article today on Crown ep 6, but if anyone wants to know the real reasons why no one could save the Romanovs please read my book:
Here is my new book for the US market, out with
@StMartinsPress
8 March 2022. Still hoping to get a UK deal for it but it will appear just two and a bit weeks before my Mary Seacole biography in UK
@simonschusterUK
@PFDAgents
Can't stand the mystification of the writing process. My 'process' is: get up, walk dog, make coffee & toast, organise research material, sit at computer- and write. That's it. No mystique. It's a job.
Book covers are fascinating in the way they vary from country to country and, here at last is the UK cover for 'After the Romanovs'. It could not be more different than the US cover. Scribe will publish the UK edition next October.
@PFDAgents
Facebook just reminded me today of the first time I met my little sprocker Lottie. She has been my most loyal and loving companion these last 6 years and I would be lost without her.
Today is the birthday of the most beautiful and enigmatic of all the
#Romanov
sisters - Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna. Had she lived she would undoubtedly have been a leading style icon of her generation.