St. Petersburg: Madness, Murder, and Art on the Banks of the Neva - Hardcover

Compulsive and page-turning.

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.

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.

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.

Lively and entertaining biography. Full of sparkling storytelling and well drawn characters. A delight.

This extraordinary book brings to life an astonishing place. Beautiful prose renders it brutally vivid, [with] delightful style and an acute sense of absurdity.

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

Biographer and historian Miles spans three centuries in this profile of St. Petersburg.

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.

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.

Cultural historian Jonathan Miles has a personal engagement with St. Petersburg and its people that dates back to the Soviet era. Born in a trunk, Jonathan spent his childhood in America and Canada and currently lives in Paris. Graduating magna cum laude from University College, London, he received his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. Early books include studies of British artists Eric Gill and David Jones. His Wreck of the Medusa--currently under option for a full-length motion picture--is a voyage through the artistic, political and moral clashes of Restoration France. The New York Times called it '"enthrallingly recounted. The narrative is brilliantly meted out." His Nine Lives of Otto Katz--the tale of a flamboyant Soviet intriguer and spy--was hailed by the Los Angeles Times "as unique among accounts of that world." Visit him at jonathanmiles.net.