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Shortlisted for the HWA Sharpe Books Non-Fiction Crown Award

A work of investigative history that will completely change the way in which we see the Romanov story. Finally, here is the truth about the secret plans to rescue Russia's last imperial family.

On 17 July 1918, the whole of the Russian Imperial Family was murdered. There were no miraculous escapes. The former Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their children - Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey - were all tragically gunned down in a blaze of bullets.

Historian Helen Rappaport sets out to uncover why the Romanovs' European royal relatives and the Allied governments failed to save them. It was not, ever, a simple case of one British King's loss of nerve. In this race against time, many other nations and individuals were facing political and personal challenges of the highest order.

In this incredible detective story, Rappaport draws on an unprecedented range of unseen sources, tracking down missing documents, destroyed papers and covert plots to liberate the family by land, sea and even sky. Through countless twists and turns, this revelatory work unpicks many false claims and conspiracies, revealing the fiercest loyalty, bitter rivalries and devastating betrayals as the Romanovs, imprisoned, awaited their fate.

A remarkable new work of history from Helen Rappaport, author of Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs. I read The Race to Save the Romanovs in more or less in a single sitting. It's absolutely marvellous - packed with details, beautifully paced and told me lots of things I didn't know. -- PETER FRANKOPAN What I always love about Helen Rappaport's books is that they appeal to the heart as well as the head. She's a writer of great compassion. -- LUCY WORSLEY A groundbreaking book... [which] prove[s] that, even as the centenary of their deaths by firing squad at Ekaterinburg approaches... there remain fresh angles and, crucially, unused evidence pertaining to the Romanovs. * The Daily Telegraph * Highly entertaining... Rappaport introduces us to a colourful array of con men, charlatans and fantasists involved in ideas to free the Romanovs... She is a vivid storyteller -- Victor Sebestyen * Sunday Times * Gripping... Rappaport has uncovered many missing pieces in the story, from the diplomatic wrangling over the tsar's fate to a number of "hare-brained" rescue schemes hatched by monarchist sympathisers. * The Times *

The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue Russia's Imperial Family