Particularize Regarding Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
| Title | : | Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2) |
| Author | : | Robert K. Massie |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 625 pages |
| Published | : | November 8th 2011 by Random House, Inc. (NY) |
| Categories | : | History. Biography. Nonfiction. Cultural. Russia. Historical. Biography Memoir. Russian History |
Robert K. Massie
Hardcover | Pages: 625 pages Rating: 3.91 | 91372 Users | 3833 Reviews
Rendition In Favor Of Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
Pulitzer Prize winner Massie offers the tale of a princess who went to Russia at 14 and became one of the most powerful women in history. Born into minor German nobility, she transformed herself into an empress by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant, curious mind, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers, and reaching the throne, tried using their principles to rule the vast, backward empire. She knew or corresponded with notable figures of her time: Voltaire, Diderot, Frederick the Great, Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette & John Paul Jones. Wanting to be the “benevolent despot” Montesquieu idealized, she contended with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. She persevered, and for 34 years the government, foreign policy, cultural development and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, wars & the tides of political change and violence inspired by the French Revolution. Her reputation depended on the perspective of the speaker. She was praised by Voltaire as like the classical philosophers. She was condemned by enemies, mostly foreign, as “the Messalina of the north.” Her family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers and enemies are vividly described. These included her ambitious, scheming mother; her weak, bullying husband, Peter (who left her sexually untouched for nine years after their marriage); her unhappy son & heir, Paul; her beloved grandchildren; and her favorites—the young men from whom she sought companionship and the recapture of youth as well as sex. Here, too, is Gregory Potemkin, her most significant lover & possible husband, with whom she shared a correspondence of love & separation, followed by 17 years of unparalleled mutual achievement. All the qualities that Massie brought to Nicholas & Alexandra and Peter the Great are present: historical accuracy, deep understanding, felicity of style, mastery of detail, ability to shatter myth & a genius for finding and expressing a human drama.Identify Books Supposing Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
| Original Title: | Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman |
| ISBN: | 0679456724 (ISBN13: 9780679456728) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Romanovs #2 |
| Literary Awards: | PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography (2012), Andrew Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction (2012), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2011) |
Rating Regarding Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
Ratings: 3.91 From 91372 Users | 3833 ReviewsColumn Regarding Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
FROM THE MEMOIRS OF CATHERINE THE GREATFirst things first: that wasnt my real name. The Empress Elizabeth, who was Peter the Greats daughter (now, that is a man who truly deserves the Great after his name!), changed my name to Ekaterina when she converted me into the Russian Orthodox religion. As for that superfluous title that follows my new name, it was prematurely bestowed on me by the Legislative Commission that I convened to give Russia a more enlightened legal code (more on this later). IHistorical Fictionistas Group Read starting 1Feb15!Started reading this in February, got roughly 30 pages in and put it down... Found the audio through my library and I'm SO GLAD I did, otherwise I might never have finished this. Not because it's boring, but because the research is simply EXHAUSTIVE. If you're interested in Russian history, I highly recommend this book. It's my first Massie book but I have two more waiting at home (thankfully shorter than this one). He presents history from all
I am impressed. Catherine the Great lived from 1729-1796. She was 14 when she first came to Russia, This book covers this entire time period meticulously. I understand how her childhood experiences came to shape her as an adult. I understand her need for love and why she came to have twelve lovers. At the same time she was motivated to seek power. She played a huge role in European history. All of this history is detailed in the book. You meet her as a person and as a leader. Everything one
This was a thorough, well-written biography of a very interesting woman. I listened to the audio book, and enjoyed both the narrators and the authors style.Catherine (born Sophia) received very little love from her mother, who was very young and very disappointed to have birthed a daughter instead of a son. But her mother was excited to marry her off to the Empress of Russias nephew and heir, Peter. Peter had an even worse childhood than Sophia/Catherine did. He and his future wife were friends
Where I got the book: ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewer ProgramA good biography needs to be chunky, informative and as exciting as a novel. Massie does well on all three counts. Catherine The Great is a lively account of both Catherine's life and the slice of European and Russian history into which she was born, and I greatly enjoyed it.Catherine, I learned, began life as a princess in an obscure German minor royal household. By the time she died, she had achieved great things for her vast
She sat on the throne of Peter the Great and ruled an empire, the largest on earth.Sophia Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst was born into a minor German noble family on 21 April 1729. Sophia was brought to Russia as a teenager, converted to Orthodoxy, renamed Catherine, and married off by the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to her nephew and heir Peter. As Catherine II, she was Empress of Russia from 28 June 1762 until her death on 6 November 1796. She came to power following a coup d'état and the
This was such an enjoyable read and I felt that I learned so much. I barely knew anything about Catherine the Great and Russian history before reading this. She was born to a minor noble German family. She married Peter, the only living grandson of Peter the Great, when she was fourteen. The story takes off from there. She was an incredible ruler and truly wanted what was best for Russia and its peoples. She improved hospitals and revised a code of laws. Her hours were intense working from six
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