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Catherine the Great

Portrait of a Woman

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 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “absorbing” (Los Angeles Times) biography of one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in Russian history—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs

“[A] compelling portrait not just of a Russian titan, but also of a flesh-and-blood woman.”—Newsweek

ONE OF ESQUIRE’S BEST BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL TIME • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Vogue, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Providence Journal

Robert K. Massie returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became Catherine the Great. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly brought to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, an eternally fascinating woman is returned to life. Femmes Moderne Monde Politique et militantisme Royauté Russie XVIIIe siècle Impérialisme Révolution française Union soviétique Guerre Biographie

Ce que les critiques en disent

“What Catherine the Great offers is a great story in the hands of a master storyteller.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Dense and detailed, enriched by pages of full-color illustrations, Massie’s latest will transport history lovers.”—People

“What a woman, what a world, what a biography.”—USA Today
“[Massie] hasn’t lost his mojo. . . . A consistently nimble and buoyant performance. . . . [Massie] has always been a biographer with the instincts of a novelist. He understands plot—fate—as a function of character, and the narrative perspective he establishes and maintains, a vision tightly aligned with that of his subject, convinces a reader he’s not so much looking at Catherine the Great as he is out of her eyes. . . . Juicy and suspenseful.”—Kathryn Harrison, The New York Times Book Review

“A meticulously, dramatically rendered biography.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“[A] rich, nuanced examination of Russia’s lone female leader.”—The Daily Beast

“What a woman!”—Elle
“Massie once again delivers a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[A] meticulously detailed work about Catherine and her world. . . . Massie makes Catherine’s story as gripping as that of any novel. His book does full justice to a complex and fascinating woman and to the age in which she lived.”—Historical Novels Review
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A most excellent book. Exceptionally well written, well read, and fascinating. If you have any interest in history especially Russian history, this is a must read.
David

Catherine the great

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The book overall is excellent. It is a biography, not a history, and does not get distracted by attempting to tell a full history of the period- which is a problem I had with Steven Kotkin's Stalin Biography. The book stays focused on Catherine, her family, her lovers and the Russian court that she is engaged with, though it provides just enough historical context that I felt that even with only a moderate familiarity with Russian history of the period going in I always understood what was going on. The story is well-written and engaging tracing the narrative arc of this woman's life in her own words and those of the people around while situating it all in historical context as the best biographies should. I also give it credit for its balance- the habit of biographers is to sympathize too much with their subjects, excuse their faults and play up their accomplishments. This book largely avoids that pitfall (with one significant exception- the author is of the opinion that the balance of evidence indicates that Catherine didn't know of or order the murder of her husband Peter- perhaps I am too cynical but this doesn't strike me as plausible). The book describes Catherine's efforts at reforming Russian serfdom (while being unable to sacrifice any of her own autocratic power) and also describes how she allowed these efforts to falter and went on to be an autocrat at home and an unapologetic imperialist abroad who snuffed out Poland as an independent nation for over a century and whose armies massacred whole cities in retaliation for rebellion. It describes her relationships with the philosophes of europe, and also how each of these luminaries ultimately became disillusioned with her. It movingly describes the trauma she experienced when the Empress Elizabeth essentially treated her as a gestational surrogate and stole her son away from her on the birthing bed and also goes on to describe Catherine's cruelty to her own son and how she ultimately was to steal away his children in much the same way.

However I am less impressed with the audio product- this was only the second Audiobook I have used but I found that audio narration was a massive distraction for me. The (male) narrator not only spoke in a slight falsetto for quotations attributed to women but also used fake accents (though only for the men, interestingly enough, he doesn't use a faux german accent for Catherine). All of this was extremely irritating for me and sometimes made me wish I'd picked up the book in physical form.

Excellent Biography, poor audio.

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I knew nothing of Catherine the Great when I began this book. Robert Massie has done her justice with his thorough research and his great respect.
Highly recommend.

Portrait of a Truly Remarkable Woman

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This book is a must read/listen for anybody who likes history. I found it very inspiring.

Incredibly inspiring.

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Well organised. Great pace. Enjoyed the narration. Every chapter was fascinating in its own right. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Fascinating.

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