5 JULY 1935, Page 36

AT THE COURT OF THE LAST TSAR By A. A.

Mossolov

The author of this book (Methuen, 12s. 611) was Head of the' Court Chancellery from 1900 to 1916, and his recollections deal tchieay with Nicholas II, his family and court. Why they were ever published must remain a •mYstery to everyone but the _publishers, for they contain nothing but desultory gossip and enlarge our histOrical knowledge of the period by, not one single detail: The writing is diffuse and slipshod•. A specimen quotation, typical of the book, may reveal the author's scale of values and his sense of historical importance :

" I do not think it would have been possible to discover a lady better fitted than was Princess Galitzin to live up to the full im-

pArtance attached to the office of Mistress of the Robes." ' ie price of the book is not a recommendation.