Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The story of the impoverished little princess of the microdot German principality of Anhalt-Zerbst who grew up to be a worthy successor of Peter the Great and an equally worthy precursor of Stalin is well known. It should be even better known now, with this Gothic romance by Henri Troyat, who has given us a masterful study of Tolstoy and good if less successful works on Pushkin and Dostoevsky. Troyat writes in the vein of Sir Walter Scott, which is to say among other things that the spicy side of Catherine's life is just not dealt with here; Troyat has never heard of Freud, but then, Catherine was in the same boat. This biography is good clean, if a bit leaden, fun." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
By delving into the life of Catherine the Great, this acclaimed biographer reveals the rich tapestry of Russia s past, giving insight into the paradoxical character of its people and their stunning evolution from feudalism to communism to their present-day struggle for a free-market democracy.
This is history as it is rarely written today elegant, witty, dramatic, and with an intimate knowledge of its characters. And what better subject for a biography than one of history's most powerful women, the German-born Russian empress whose adopted language and culture were French, and whose most loyal correspondents were Voltaire and Diderot? Troyat details the various lives of Catherine II: the ambitious child, the acquiescent yet firm grand duchess, the forceful politician and patron of the arts, the belligerent war maker, and the doting grandparent.
A remarkable woman . . . A riveting book. Mary Renault
Brilliantly captures one of the most colorful figures of all time. Doubleday Book Club News"
Table of Contents
Translator's Note
I. Figchen
II. En Route
III. The Steps of the Throne
IV. Betrothal
V. Marriage
VI. The Virgin Wife
VII. Love and Motherhood
VIII. First Political Skirmishes
IX. The Big Scene
X. Love, Gathering Darkness, Perfidy
XI. The Reign of Peter III
XII. The Coup d'Etat
XIII. The Apprenticeship of Power
XIV. Incense and Blood
XV. "Legislomania"
XVI. The French and the Turks
XVII. The Marriage of the Grand Duke
XVIII. Diderot and Pugachev
XIX. Potemkin
XX. Catherine the Great
XXI. Lanskoy
XXII. The Journey to the Crimea
XXIII. Wars
XXIV. Zubov Against Potemkin
XXV. Poland and France
XXVI. The End
Notes
Bibliography
Chronology
Index