
Montefiore’s account of Stalin’s life as the leader of the Soviet Union is not your typical narration of him as a paranoid, murderous dictator.

Simon Sebag Montefiore’s The Court of the Red Tsar was one of the first historical books I read from cover to cover and I truly enjoyed reading, as it was finally something that I, with the assistance of my amazing teacher, had chosen to read on my own and not for an exam or as part of my homework! Despite its length, the compelling way in which the book is written meant that I was determined to get to the end and see the book’s twists and turns along the way.
