Memories of the last Russian tsar and his family, written by a teacher of Nicholas II’s children who taught them French. They cover the pre-war years, the period of World War I, two revolutions, and the exile of the tsar’s family to Tobolsk, where Gilliard voluntarily went with them. In Yekaterinburg, the author was separated from the tsar’s family by the Bolsheviks, but immediately after the White armies entered the city he took part in investigating the circumstances of the execution of the tsar’s family—this is what the final chapters of the book are devoted to.