In this reprint from 2008, the late Hughes, who was professor of history at the U. of London, UK, relates the history of the Romanovs in Russia from 1613 to the fall of the dynasty in 1917. She describes each of the rulers from Michael to Nicholas II, including Alexis, Catherine I, Anna, Elizabeth, and Alexander III, focusing on the rulers and dynastic issues and not the wider Romanov clan, and discussing both their successes and their failures and the strategies that allowed them to rule Russia for over 300 years. She includes discussion of the political and cultural role of Romanov women, the relationship between the ruling house and the ruling class, the rulers' attitudes toward the Russian people, the relationship between Russia and the major Western powers, and the balance between national identity and assimilation from abroad.