Robert K. Massie
Hardcover | Pages: 625 pages Rating: 3.91 | 91372 Users | 3833 Reviews
Identify Appertaining To 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 |
Representaion Supposing 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.Declare Books In Pursuance Of 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 Appertaining To Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
Ratings: 3.91 From 91372 Users | 3833 ReviewsCritique Appertaining To Books Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (The Romanovs #2)
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 vastI just finished this biography of Catherine the Great and I have to say it was riveting-- a real page turner. I didn't want it to end-- even after 570 pages of it!!! The author won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Peter the Great (the famed European style reformer who made Russia a great power). His writing is so engaging that I couldn't put this book down!Catherine's story is remarkable: She was an obscure German princess (of a tiny principality!) who rose to become the Empress of Russia
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K Massie is the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who travelled to Russia at the tender age of fourteen and rose to become one of the most powerful, and captivating women in history.I had previously read Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra which was wonderful and I was really interested in reading about Catherine the Great.Massie did extensive research on this book. It is Catherines detailed and excellent memoirs and letters
Whew. What a densely loaded book about a fascinating woman. If you have an interest in Catherine the Great, this is most definitely a biography to add to your repertoire. When the audiobook has 19 "chapters" which are just over an hour in length... you know you are getting your book's worth of material. My interest is still piqued in Russian history and this woman. I also appreciated the time devoted to her predecessor Elizabeth, her sort of technically uncoronated predecessor Peter, as well as
Robert K. Massie does a convincing effort to tell us Catherine the great, or the tale of how a small German princess became one of the greatest monarch during the Enlightenment era.Born to a low noble German family, Catherine's life got turned upside down when she was betrothed to Paul I, the adopted son of Empress Elizabeth of Russia. However, the betrothal and subsequent marriage was not a happy one, and due to the eccentric behaviour of Paul I she was quickly able to seize the throne in 1762.
Mr Massie has again brought one of the members of the ruling dynasty of Russia to life. He draws a complex picture of the woman who became known as Catherine the Great. She however resisted using the term Great and preferred to referred to as Catherine II.Massie starts his narrative with Catherine then known as Sofia, a minor German princess, and the maneuverings of her mother to get her married off. She ends up traveling with her mother to the court of Elizabeth of Russia as a potential bride
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