Catherine the Great

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23 hours, 52 minutesPulitzer 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. New Read Catherine the Great [ By ] Robert K. Massie [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr FROM THE MEMOIRS OF CATHERINE THE GREATFirst things first that wasn t my real name The Empress Elizabeth, who was Peter the Great s 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 aenlightened legal codeon this later FROM THE MEMOIRS OF CATHERINE THE GREATFirst things first that wasn t my real name The Empress Elizabeth, who was Peter the Great s 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 aenlightened legal codeon this later I brought them together to study laws, and they were busy discussing my virtues instead Imagine that I still blush with embarrassment whenever I recall the incident, although I cannot say that I m thoroughly displeased with it My real name is Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt Zerbst Dornburg ...Like probably every woman of note in history, open about and unashamed of her sexuality, Catherine the Great is primarily remembered as a power and man hungry, salacious, perverted woman Try googling her name and see how high on the list of the results is the ever pressing question Did she really sleep with a horseDoes anyone care about her accomplishments in politics, art and science Not really But her sexual exploits Oh, YES That s why I appreciate Robert K Massie s Catherine the Gre Like probably every woman of note in history, open about and unashamed of her sexuality, Catherine the Great is primarily remembered as a power and man hungry, salacious, perverted woman Try googling her name and see how high on the list of the results is the ever pressing question Did she really sleep with a horseDoes anyone care about her accomplishments in politics, art and science Not really But her sexual exploits Oh, YES That s why I appreciate Robert K Massie s Catherine the Great Portrait of a Woman so much It is an honest, frank, compassionate account of this superbly intelligent and deeply dedicated to her adoptive country woman s life.As expected from a biography of a monarch, this work is pretty heavy on historical details I won t lie, I skimmed over a good quarter of the book,...Firstly, to answer your most pressing question regarding Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796 No, she did not die having sex with a horse.Moreover, if you have an abiding interest in the origins of this rumor, Robert K Massie s Catherine the Great Portrait of a Woman will not satiate your deviant interest it certainly didn t satisfy mine Massie refuses to engage the slander born during her own lifetime at any level.Thus, there is not one sentence of horse sex in Firstly, to answer your most pressing question regarding Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796 No, she did not die having sex with a horse.Moreover, if you have an abiding interest in the origins of this ru...My ongoing exploration of biographies has pushed into yet another realm women of power What better way to begin than with a woman who held much power in her time and about whom I know very little Bring on Catherine the Great of Russia Robert K Massie does a sensational job of pulling out a strong and well rounded story of this most interesting Empress of Russia She faced hurdles and impediments throughout her life, but always found a way to succeed While Massie offers the reader numerous ...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 Catherine s detailed and excellent memoirs and letters f 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 Catherine s detailed and excellent memoirs and letters from which Massie quotes liberally which make it possible for him to write such a wonderful detailed portrait of this Woman and her time in history Mr Massie writes elegantly and knows how to get the readers attention and I found myself totally invested in this story and its characters I loved reading this book and really learned so m...This one was clearly a win for me as a biography of Catherine the Great Massie s writing is clear, brisk and kept the story moving throughout What I really enjoyed was how he took the time and trouble to show how Catherine carried forward the reforms begun by Peter the Great, and was a monarch who overcame a great deal of adversity to overcome the obstacles of not being Russian, being a woman, and a usurper to boot most biographies focus on her time before becoming empress and or her lovers This one was clearly a win for me as a biography of Catherine the Great Massie s writing is clear, brisk and kept the story moving throughout What I really enjoyed was how he took the time and trouble to show how Catherine carried forward the reforms begu...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 coul 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 adu...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...This book is hard to place on a scale At times, it s a 5 and other times it s a 2 or even a 1 After some debating in my head I m going to give it a 3.5, but it s not enough to round it up to a 4 This book started off as a 5 and I loved it The story of Catherine then Sophia growing up, being picked as the bride for the heir to the Russian Empire, and her years spent in Russia was great Massie interspaced entries from her own memoirs into these years and it really added a great personal fla This book is hard to place on a scale At times, it s a 5 and other times it s a 2 or even a 1 After some debating in my head I m going to give it a 3.5, but it s not enough to round it up to a 4 This book started off as a 5 and I loved it The story of Catherine then Sophia growing up, being picked as the bride for the heir to the Russian Empire, and her years spent in Russia was great Massie interspaced entries from her own memoirs into these years and it really added a great personal flavor to the history Granted I didn t know that story going into this book but it s a very interesting look at a girl getting out from under her family and turning into a strong woman.Then Catherine becomes Empress and the book takes a huge nose dive Just when I thought it was ...She sat on the throne of Peter the Great and ruled an empire, the largest on earth Her signature, inscribed on a decree, was law and, if she chose, could mean life or death for any one of her twenty million subjects She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character During the coup, she had shown determination and courage once on the throne, she displayed an open mind, willingness to forgive, and a political morality founded on rationality and practical efficiency She softened She sat on the throne of Peter the Great and ruled an empire, the largest on earth Her signature, inscribed on a decree, was law and, if she chose, could mean life or death for any one of her twenty million subjects She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character During the coup, she had shown determination and courage once on the throne, she displayed an open mind, willingness to forgive, and a political morality founded on rationality and practical efficiency She softened imperial presence with a sense of humor and a quick tongue indeed, with Catherinethan any other monarch of her day, there was always a wide latitu...

Catherine the Great
  • English
  • 07 May 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 625 pages
  • 0679456724
  • Robert K. Massie
  • Catherine the Great