Book description
This is the story of Faberge's Imperial Easter eggs - of their maker,
of the tsars who commissioned them, of the middlemen who sold them and
of the collectors who fell in love with them. It's a story of meticulous
craftsmanship and unimaginable wealth, of lucky escapes and mysterious
disappearances, and ultimately of greed, tragedy and devotion. Moreover,
it is a story that mirrors the history of twentieth-century Russia - a
satisfying arc that sees eggs made for the tsars, sold by Stalin, bought
by Americans and now, finally, returned to post-communist Russia. There
is also an intriguing element of mystery surrounding the masterpieces.
Of the fifty 'Tsar Imperial' eggs known to have been made, eight are
currently unaccounted for, providing endless scope for speculation and
forgeries. This is the first book to tell the complete history of the
eggs, encompassing the love and opulence in which they were conceived,
the war and revolution that scattered them, and the collectors who
preserved them.
Toby Faber was formerly Managing Director of the publishing house
Faber & Faber. He was born in Cambridge in 1965, and now lives in
London with his wife and daughter. His last book was Stradivarius,
also published by Macmillan.
