Simon Sebag Montefiore Libros

The epic bestselling biography of Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin, her outrageous lover and co-ruler

The gripping story of Russia's imperial dynasty, 1613-1918

Winner of the British Book Awards History Book of the Year Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize This thrilling biography of Stalin and his entourage during the terrifying decades of his supreme power transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader and Russian tsar. Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals in captivating detail the fear and betrayal, privilege and debauchery, family life and murderous cruelty of this secret world. Written with extraordinary narrative verve, this magnificent feat of scholarly research has become a classic of modern history writing. Showing how Stalin's triumphs and crimes were the product of his fanatical Marxism and his gifted but flawed character, this is an intimate portrait of a man as complicated and human as he was brutal and chilling.

Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper and Marsh Biography prizes It is one of the great love stories of history, and one of its most successful political partnerships. Catherine the Great was a woman of notorious passion and imperial ambition, perhaps the greatest of the Romanovs. Prince Potemkin - wildly flamboyant and sublimely talented - was the love of her life and her co-ruler. Together they seized Ukraine and Crimea and founded cities such as Sebastopol, defining the Russian empire to this day. Their affair was so tumultuous they negotiated an arrangement to share power, leaving Potemkin free to love his beautiful nieces, Catherine her young male favourites. But these 'twin souls' never stopped loving each other. Drawing on their intimate letters and vast new research from St Petersburg to Odessa, Simon Sebag Montefiore's enthralling, much-acclaimed biography restores these imperial partners to their rightful place as titans of their age.

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's 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. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling chronicle of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.

History's greatest love story, Catherine the Great and Potemkin is a sweeping epic of sex, love, power, conquest and extravagance on a magnificent Russian scale. Not only was only was their romance wildly passionate but they were also probably the most successful political partnership of all, outstripping Antony and Cleopatra or Napoleon and Josephine. Their secret letters, which discuss other lovers, sex, wars, politics, arts and health, are surely the most intimate and extraordinary ever written by an empress or politician.

Originally published: London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2011.

A collection of history's greatest speeches, with commentary from internationally bestselling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. Updated with new speeches from John Boyega, Queen Elizabeth II and others.

The second in this exciting new series for younger readers from the international bestselling authors Santa and Sebag Montefiore, illustrated by sought-after illustrator Kate Hindley.

Provides genuine historical recordings of the most significant speeches, each introduced by acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. This is an unusual and fascinating potted history: a history of humanity told through the speeches that shaped it