Orlando Figes is an award-winning author of nine books on Russian and European history which have been translated into over 30 languages.

Orlando Figes's latest book is The Europeans: Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture.

A panoramic history of nineteenth-century European culture told through the entangled lives of the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, the singer and composer Pauline Viardot and her husband Louis Viardot, a great connoisseur,The Europeans has been published to critical acclaim in the UK and US:

"Magnificent. Beautifully written, immaculately researched and thoroughly absorbing from start to finish. A tour de force that explains how Europe's cultural life transformed during the course of the 19th century - and so much more." (Peter Frankopan)

"Magnificent and utterly gripping: European identity, culture and commerce through the lives of three remarkable individuals, the book for our times." (Philippe Sands)

"It plunged me into another world. I learned so much and was carried away by the intelligence and fluidity of the style - a combination which is unbeatable." (Antonia Fraser)

"There are a multitude of fascinating pieces of information to be gleaned from Orlando Figes's magisterial and wide-ranging book The Europeans ... Relevant, trenchant and searching." (William Boyd, The Guardian)

"The Europeans is a massively impressive work, as enjoyable as it is knowledgeable, full of insights into the mechanisms of history and in the people who make it. It is a book about the making of Europe, and this description, wonderful as it is, has now, in these days, sadly, also almost a utopian quality to it. Orlando Figes is an outstanding historian and writer, he brings distant history so close that you could feel its heartbeat. He did it with the Russian Revolution in A People's Tragedy, and he does it again in The Europeans." (Karl Ove, Knausgaard)

"Meticulously detailed, exhaustively researched and written with Figes's characteristic verve, The Europeans is a sweeping tour de force and a monumental work of historical synthesis." (Julian Coman, The Observer)

"Figes in his maturity is a fine, subtle writer with a nice eye for detail and clever with structure. I finished the book entertained, informed and armed with the kinds of insights and questions that will keep me happily going for the rest of the year." (David Aaronovitch The Times)

"Remarkable ... Orlando Figes is a fine historian who combines scholarly detail with readability. His wide-ranging book touches on a multitude of subjects. But at its heart is a love triangle - the very human story of three remarkable individuals whose lives he has resurrected with great sympathy and insight. "(Nick Rennison, Daily Mail)

"Timely, brilliant and hugely enjoyable ... A magnificently humane book, written with supple grace but firmly underpinned by meticulous scholarship." (Rupert Christiansen, Sunday Telegraph)

"Figes's knowledge is breath-taking in its range and precision ... A conclusion to draw from The Europeans is that tribalism is stronger than art ... This a melancholy reflection, but it accentuates, rather than reduces, the value of Figes's tumultuously informative and educative work." (John Carey, Sunday Times)

To buy the book click here.

Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991

Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991 (Pelican, 2014) draws from several of Figes’ previous books on the Russian Revolution and Soviet history. It argues that - although it changed in form and character - the Russian Revolution should be understood as a single cycle of 100 years, from the famine crisis of 1891 until the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991.

Praise for Revolutionary Russia:

"Insightful and convincing... Figes integrates his analysis into a highly readable story, and he shows himself to be a master of historical narrative. Readers will find themselves absorbing a great deal of information and insight with very little effort." (David Priestland, Financial Times)

"A primer intended for readers unfamiliar with the territory, it sparkles with ideas, vivid storytelling, poignant anecdotes and pithy phrases... Fresh and dramatic." (Victor Sebestyen, Sunday Times)

To accompany Revolutionary Russia there are two websites designed by Orlando Figes to help teachers and students study the Russian Revolution and Soviet history.

To visit the free site go to www.orlandofiges.info where you will find a historical outlines, commentaries, photos, videos, and extracts from Orlando Figes's books.

For A-level teachers and students who are keen to stretch their studies, or for students at university, there is a premium site www.revolutionaryrussia.com with more materials, including:
** my ideas on how to answer the most common questions in A-level and university exams;
** opportunities to participate in on-line seminars with me on Google Hangout to discuss the major themes of the Russian Revolution and Soviet history, and a video library of previous seminars;
** lecture/podcasts for each of the website's 18 sections;
** longer extracts from my books carefully selected to help students deepen their ideas on key themes;
** photo essays and videos with questions designed for class work;
** regular discussions of key themes and exam questions;
** updates on news and source materials for Russian revolutionary history.

There is a small subscription fee (£49.99 per year for schools and £7.99 per year for individuals) to access these and other materials at www.revolutionaryrussia.com

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