Nicholas II appeases revolutionaries

Lucy Worsley concludes her history of the Romanov dynasty by investigating how the family's grip on Russia unravelled in their final century. The years between 1825 and 1918 were bloody and traumatic, a period when four tsars tried and failed to deal with the growing pressure for constitutional reform and revolution.

Lucy Worsley examines the extraordinary reign of Catherine the Great, and the traumatic conflict with Napoleonic France that provdes the setting for the novel War and Peace. She begins in the 18th century, when the great palaces of the Romanovs were built. Built in Romanov Russia, blood was always intermingled with gold - these splendid interiors were the backdrop to affairs, coups and murder.

The Romanovs were the most powerful monarchs since the Middle Ages, wielding absolute power into the 20th century. Their demise was shocking and brutal, yet for most they are distant, barely understood figures. Lucy Worsley applies her characteristic insight and wit to the Romanov dynasty to create a fresh and compelling account of this most extraordinary royal family.