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St. Petersburg: Madness, Murder, and Art on the Banks of the Neva Hardcover – March 6, 2018

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

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From Peter the Great to Putin, this is the unforgettable story of St Petersburg—one of the most magical, menacing, and influential cities in the world.

St. Petersburg has always felt like an impossible metropolis, risen from the freezing mists and flooded marshland of the River Neva on the western edge of Russia. It was a new capital in an old country. Established in 1703 by the sheer will of Peter the Great, its dazzling yet unhinged reputation was quickly cemented by the sadistic dominion of its early rulers. This city, in its successive incarnations—St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad and, once again, St. Petersburg—has always been a place of perpetual contradiction.

It was a window to Europe and the Enlightenment, but so much of Russia’s unique glory was also created here: its literature, music, dance and, for a time, its political vision. Yet, for all its glittering palaces, fairytale balls and enchanting gardens, the blood of thousands has been spilt on its snow-filled streets.

In
St. Petersburg, Jonathan Miles recreates the drama of three hundred years in this paradoxical and brilliant city, bringing us up to the present day, when its fate hangs in the balance once more.

This is an epic tale of murder, massacre and madness played out against squalor and splendor, and an unforgettable portrait of a city and its people.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"To walk the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia, on a clear evening during the white nights of June is one of the world’s more sublime urban experiences. The Paris-based cultural historian Jonathan Miles has set out to write a sweeping account of a metropolis whose tumultuous, bloody past and dazzling cultural heritage mirror that of Russia as a whole. Miles has conducted extensive research . . . most notably [on] the rich architectural and artistic legacy of a city that was home to such luminaries as Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Shostakovich and Nureyev. Miles dishes up the A-to-Z of St. Petersburg’s history: The brutal, westward-looking Peter the Great; the succession of rulers, whose stable of European architects created St. Petersburg’s handsome neoclassical facade; the sorrows of a city that spawned the Russian Revolution and endured the 900-day German siege during World War II; and the trials of Soviet-era Leningrad, which gave us its native son, Vladimir Putin, now dragging St. Petersburg and Russia halfway back to their authoritarian past." ― New York Times Book Review

"Jonathan Miles’s cinematic telling shows how the drama, the absurdity, the splendor and the squalor of the imperial capital all found their way into Russia’s finest novels, operas and paintings. In this compelling account of St Petersburg’s turbulent history, Miles peels back the layers of myth in which the city is swaddled, while never losing sight of its haunting grace." ―
The Guardian

"This extraordinary book brings to life an astonishing place. Beautiful prose renders it brutally vivid, [with] delightful style and an acute sense of absurdity." ―
The Times, Book of the Week (London)

"Miles' history has a substantial foundation, but what makes it special is the sheer inescapable momentum of his prose, powered by the captivating intensity of his attachment to his subject. His overwhelming concatenation of fact, observation and opinion is a dazzling history of a dazzling city over centuries of physical and political challenge." ―
The Art's Desk (London)

"Biographer and historian Miles spans three centuries in this profile of St. Petersburg." ―
Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating and rich history. The importance and the epic scale of St. Petersburg comes across vividly in this work. For all readers who enjoy Russian history combined with a rich overview of the arts." ―
Library Journal (starred)

"A brilliant history. So fluent, so textured is Jonathan Miles’s ease with prose and argument that his vivid dissection of three hundred years of St Petersburg’s history should be devoured in captive sittings. This is a storyteller entranced with his subject, who makes its brilliant portrayal look deliriously easy." ―
The Observer

"A fresh mix of fascinating contrasts and diverse perspectives. More than just a retelling of historical facts." ―
Charleston Post and Courier

"Lively and entertaining biography. Full of sparkling storytelling and well drawn characters. A delight." ―
The Sunday Times

"Miles’s spellbinding account of this magnificent yet tragic city reflects the passions, triumphs, and colossal failures of Russia itself. Thoroughly documented and illustrated, this is an eloquently written tribute to a legendary city." ―
Booklist

"Compulsive and page-turning." ―
Bloomberg News

"An expansive portrait of the calamity-laden urban center of European Russia. Vigorous and readable." ―
Kirkus Reviews

"Of all cities St. Petersburg is most like a novel. Conceived in the mind of a Tsar like a writer might give birth to a book, it has never ceased to be relentlessly dramatic, as if being like a novel is its destiny. Miles tells the tale magnificently. " -- Peter Pomerantzev, author of Nothing is True and Everything is Possible

About the Author

After a nomadic childhood in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, Jonathan Miles has been travelling ever since and currently lives in Paris. He studied at University College, London and received his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. He is the author of several books, including Medusa: The Shipwreck, the Scandal and the Masterpiece, Nine Lives of Otto Katz and St Petersburg: Three Centuries of Murderous Desire, which were all published to international acclaim.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pegasus Books; First Edition (March 6, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1681776766
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1681776767
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 2 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Miles
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After a nomadic childhood in America, Canada and the UK, Jonathan Miles took a first class degree from University College, London and his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. He has written, lectured and broadcast on cultural history all over the world.

Reviews of - Medusa - The Shipwreck, The Scandal, The Masterpiece include 'thrilling' (The Guardian), 'enthralling ... virtuoso' (The Telegraph), 'compelling' (Independent on Sunday), 'an incredibly gripping book - Miles's masterful work is a powerful read' (Irish Times), 'compulsive, page-turning stuff' (Bloomberg News) 'grippingly recounted - the narrative is brilliantly meted out' (New York Times).'The Medusa' is published by Jonathan Cape Penguin/Random House in the UK; Grove Atlantic in the US; by Nutrimenti in Italy; by Zeraq in France and is under option for a full-length feature film.

The Sunday Times said of 'The Nine Lives of Otto Katz', 'This irresistible biography exposes a man by turns showy and shadowy... Miles conjures the spy-game atmospherics of the era wonderfully. Using recently opened MI5 files, he tracks the intelligence service's struggle to comprehend the man.' The Canada Post calls the book 'a fascinating, fast-moving and frequently witty portrait of a man of such charisma and cunning'. In Metro UK, Alan Chadwick, calls The Nine Lives of Otto Katz 'Enthralling ... This portrait has all the hallmarks of a thrilling detective story as Katz sets about coordinating his hydra-headed fronts for Soviet propaganda and profit.' American reviews include 'unique' (Los Angeles Times), Miles's 'portrait of Katz is masterful' (Chicago Sun Times) and 'biography at its readable best' (The Washington Times). Otto Katz is published by Transworld in the UK; Bloomsbury in the USA; Denoël in France; and Paseka in the Czech Republic.

Reviews of - St Petersburg : Three Centuries of Murderous Desire: ‘This extraordinary book brings to life an astonishing place. Beautiful prose renders brutaly vivid’ … ‘delightful style and an acute sense of absurdity’ Gerard DeGroot The Times - BOOK OF THE WEEK/ A TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘His history has a substantial foundation, but what makes it special is the sheer inescapable momentum of Miles’s prose, powered by the captivating intensity of his attachment to his subject. This is a story told by a writer enthralled … His overwhelming concatenation of fact, observation and opinion is a dazzling history of a dazzling city’ – Marina Vaizey, ‘The Arts Desk’‘lively and entertaining biography … full of sparkling storytelling and well drawn characters … a delight’ Victor Sebestyen The Sunday Times 'Of all cities St Petersburg is most like a novel … Miles tells the tale magnificently.' – Peter Pomeranzev .'a brilliant history...So fluent, so textured is Jonathan Miles's ease with prose and argument that his vivid dissection of 300 years of St. Petersburg history should be devoured in captive sittings ... This is a storyteller entranced with his subject, who makes its brilliant portrayal look deliriously easy.' - Susan Sheahan, The Observer St Petersburg is published in the UK by Hutchinson Penguin Random House; in the US in by Pegasus Books; in Estonia by Tanapaev Publishers; in Taiwan by the Marco Polo Press; in China by Horizon Media and in Poland by Bellona publishing.

Seren Press published earlier books on David Jones and Eric Gill:- The Maker Unmade - 'The best book on David Jones' - Julian Mitchell, The Spectator; 'authoritative, massively researched … a sophisticated acquaintance with the cultural context and many vivid details of biography', The Times Literary Supplement; 'Succeeds in being readily comprehensible while also being scholarly' ,The Literary Review.

- Try the Wilderness First (a new edition of Eric Gill & David Jones at Capel-y-Ffin) - 'Scholarly, rigorous and remarkably comprehensive … Miles’s skill in placing this period in its artistic and historical contexts is admirable and illuminating', Book New From Wales

Backgrounds to David Jones (University of Wales Press) 'It is a pleasure to welcome this distinctive book … Miles puts Jones into a bigger context and better perspective than most' - Michael Alexander, Modern Language Review.

Atlantic Books is publishing Once Upon a Time World - The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera. U.K. in May 2023. The first review is a SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEK: ‘as fascinating in its historical sweep as its devotion to gossip and misbehaviour. … the book becomes a delirious chronicle of excess … Once Upon a Time World is a phenomenal work of research across hundreds of histories, biographies, memoirs and letters. It shifts with masterly control across a dozen arenas from high art to low scandal, taking in fashion, sport, ballet and motor racing. It’s utterly absorbing, indelicate to a shocking degree and I devoured every page of it.’ - John Walsh

Website - https//:www.jonathanmiles.net

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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2024
    Fast delivery. Product is in excellent condition.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021
    Having been a life-long world traveler have read non-fiction histories of many world cities and St Petersburg is among the best ever. The author manages to encompass a wide topic spectrum from art and architecture to intrigue and socio-economic factors in this city that never should have existed's compellingly told saga. The "reads like fiction" shibboleth actually applies.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018
    Excellent, well written, great history!!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018
    Not direct
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2018
    Great book!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2023
    I bought this book primarily because I’m fascinated by the city of St. Petersburg. I never expected it to be so much fun to read, and I wish it had been published before I went in 2014. I’ve read several books on Russian history, but I’ve never read any description/explanation of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath that was as clear as Jonathan Miles’.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2018
    Throughout this wonderful book I could not decide whether my ranking would ultimately be a 4 or a 5. But when I got the last chapter, I realized that Miles has truly saved the best for last, and knew it was, overall, a solid 5. His prose is consistently luminous; this is prose that soars but is nowhere even remotely pretentious. His information is impressively researched and clearly presented. Early on (p. 60), he tells us that St. Petersburg is "a place where high winds carried the groans of dying Russian labourers and the lilt of European minuets." He ends (the words that solidified my rating) with these sublime images: "Dwarfed by the immensity of Senate Square, . . . Falconer's Peter [the famed Bronze Horseman statue] seems hardly up to the job. If he dismounted, he'd stagger off--like a drunkard trying to walk the straight line, his dubious legacy 300 years of murderous desire." And: St. Petersburg is "a mirage, a magnificent Atlantis, an impossible metropolis rising from the mists, which the mud and the mire keep trying to reclaim." These are magnificent sentences. This was not an easy read, but it rewarded marvelously, powerfully as I read. If you are seeking a political history or a military history, this may not be your book, although Miles provides ample material on both areas, as ancillary to cultural shifts and events. He is a cultural historian, and I found that quite satisfying and rewarding. If you have any doubt of the magnificence of this work, go to a bookstore, sit in a quiet corner, and read his final chapter. I believe you will then justifiably decide on the spot to buy it. You will not be disappointed.
    6 people found this helpful
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