Recollections of Imperial Russia: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Recollections of Imperial Russia, credited to Meriel Buchanan, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Recollections of Imperial Russia by Meriel Buchanan. Read in English by Jan Moorehouse. In this memoir, Meriel Buchanan (9-5-1886 to 2-6-1959) links the history of Russia to powerful, lingering memories of her years living there. She was the daughter of the man who turned out to be the last British ambassador to Imperial Russia. As a young adult, in her role as the ambassador’s daughter, she had regular access to the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, providing her with unusual experiences and impressions. She describes first hand the sights, sounds, and some of the activities she remembers from this elevated and sheltered vantage point. The family left Russia in 1918, and the author’s memories are filled with nostalgia and longing for the Russia she experienced. - Summary by Jan M.

Recording facts

• Recording title: Recollections of Imperial Russia
• Author credits: Meriel Buchanan
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 15
• Listed recording duration: 8:18:02

Catalogue topics

• Russia
• Tsar
• St. Petersburg
• Revolution

Track guide

1. 01 - First Impressions — 22:10
2. 02 - Society — 20:06
3. 03 - The Court of Russia — 33:42
4. 04 - Peter the Great — 34:26
5. 05 - Catherine: Grand Duchess! — 38:20
6. 06 - Catherine: Empress! — 52:39
7. 07 - Paul — 40:56
8. 08 - The Mother of Russian Cities — 43:26
9. 09 - Moscow: Ivan the Terrible — 35:37
10. 10 - The Legend of the False Dimitri — 29:17
11. 11 - Other Memories of Moscow — 29:34
12. 12 - The Shores of the Black Sea — 27:14
13. 13 - The Cossacks — 28:38
14. 14 - Religion, Mysticism, Melody and Color — 33:09
15. 15 - The Spirit of Bolshevism — 28:48

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.