Whole Story Audio Books

Price: £19.99

Synopsis

This is the story of Faberge's Imperial Easter eggs - of their maker, of the tsars who commissioned them, of the middlemen who sold them and of the collectors who fell in love with them. It's a story of meticulous craftsmanship and unimaginable wealth, of lucky escapes and mysterious disappearances, and ultimately of greed, tragedy and devotion.

Moreover, it is a story that mirrors the history of twentieth-century Russia - a satisfying arc that sees eggs made for the tsars, sold by Stalin, bought by Americans and now, finally, returned to post-communist Russia...

This recording is unabridged. Typically abridged audiobooks are not more than 60% of the author's work and as low as 30% with characters and plotlines removed.

Reviews and Press Quotes

Bookseller

“A thoroughly engrossing and meticulous look at the coveted collectables.”

Sue Arnold, The Guardian

“Faber's fascinating book is far more than an account of the dazzling (literally) craftsmanship of the Fabergé family, who in the late 17th century fled Huguenot persecution in France, settled in St Petersburg and became official jewelers to the imperial family. It is also a potted history of the decline and fall of the Romanov empire, from the gruesome assassination of Nicholas's grandfather, Tsar Alexander II, in 1881 (he survived one revolutionary's bomb thrown at his carriage only to fall victim when he emerged unharmed to a second which blew off his legs), to the Russian revolution of 1917 and the massacre a year later of the entire imperial family and their servants in a Yekaterinburg cellar.”

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Content Advisory

(What's this?)

• Violence: Mild
• Sex: Mild
• Language: Mild