"Sophia Regent of Russia: 1657-1704" by Dr. Lindsey Hughes, published by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1990; illustrated with photographs.

Original price un-clipped dust jacket [upper edge wear: see photos], hard boards, original cloth spine with gold lettering, 6.1/2" x 9.1/2"; black endpapers,345 pages including Index, several illustrations, slightly stained outer upper edge of the pages, very good/ fine condition.

Sophia Alekseevna Romanov, the half-sister of Peter the Great, was the first woman to rule Russia. In 1682, ten-year-old Peter and his mentally retarded brother Ivan were declared joint tsars with 25-year-old Sophia as their regent. The regency lasted for seven years until Sophia was ousted by Peter and dispatched to a convent for the last 15 years of her life.

In this revisionist work, Hughes, historian at the University of London, reassesses the approach to Sophia, first woman effectively to rule Russia, and her success in actively attaining and capably wielding power within the context of a rigidly male-dominated society. In his vibrant narrative, the author disentangles the interlocking power structures of court, state and church. He investigates how Sophia escaped from the isolated palace life of a princess and became a successful politician. He describes her "very substantial" achievements in foreign policy, particularly the 1686 treaty with Poland. However, the campaigns against the Tartars and Turks were disastrous and provided the opportunity for 17-year-old Peter to depose his sister and banish her to a convent. Examining in detail Sophia's live, Hughes contradicts traditional assessments of her rule, credibly arguing that Sophia was open-minded capable politician, and that her rule heralded the Petrine era.

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