Russian Court Memoirs, 1914-1916. By A Russian. (Herbert Jenkins. 12s.
6d. net.)—Much of this book seems curiously pro- phetic to-day in the light of the events which have marched so rapidly in Russia during the past few months. The author writes as an avowed monarchist, and he' completed his work long before the resent upheaval ; but he was intensely alive to tho dangers arising from the widespread belief in the existence of German influence in Court circles, although he regarded the extent of that influence as being much exaggerated. by popular rumour. He has a wealth of information and a good. deal of pleasant anecdote about all the prominent figures in Petrograd society during the period he covers ; but unfortunately his anonymity detracts, to some extent, from the value of his book as an historical document. We- cannot give full credence to his version of the subtler influences at work beneath the surface of politics without knowing how much of what he says is genuine inside " knowledge, and how much is merely what was currently believed at the time. His accounts of the tortures inflicted on Russian soldiers by their captors, and the sufferings endured by Russian travellers in Germany in August, 1914, are painfully impressive through their evident restraint ; and they accord only too well with what we have heard already on similar subjects from other sources. The book is illustrated with photographs of the principal persons mentioned.
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