Glorious Misadventures

Nikolai Rezanov and the Dream of a Russian America

Bloomsbury USA (Nov 12, 2013)

9781620402399

| Hardcover

384 pages | USA | English

$ 28.00 | Value: $ 28.00

Find sold listings on eBay

CLZ may be compensated
for purchases made

Dewey 979.8/02092

LC Classification DK190.6.R4 .M38 2013

LC Control No. 2013031042

Genre

History

Subject

Alaska Natives
Kingdom of Hawaii, 1795-1893
Ninteenth Century (1800s)
Province of Las Californias, 1767–1804
Russian America, 1732-1867
Russian Empire, 1721-1917
Russian Federation, 1991-

Plot

The Russian Empire once extended deep into America: in 1818 Russia's furthest outposts were in California and Hawaii. The dreamer behind this great Imperial vision was Nikolai Rezanov – diplomat, adventurer, courtier, millionaire and gambler. His quest to plant Russian colonies from Siberia to California led him to San Francisco, where he was captivated by Conchita, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Spanish Governor, who embodied his dreams of both love and empire. From the glittering court of Catherine the Great to the wilds of the New World, Matthews conjures a brilliantly original portrait of one of Russia's most eccentric Empire-builders.