Zusatztext Enthralling. USA Today Gripping. The New York Times Book Review Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman has it all: jealous mothers! indulgent eccentrics! greedy social climbers! intrigue! infidelity! murder! political coups! sex! war and passion.Bookreporter Exhaustively researched and dramatically narrated. The Boston Globe [Robert K. Massie] brings great authority to this sweeping account of Catherine and her times. . . . a compelling read. The Washington Post Meticulously! dramatically rendered. O: The Oprah Magazine Reads like an epic Russian novel. San Antonio Express-News Will transport history lovers. People Massie makes Catherine's story dramatic and immediate. The Kansas City Star Graceful and engrossing.Minneapolis Star Tribune A biography as captivating as its subject. MacLean's Informationen zum Autor Robert K. Massie Klappentext "[A] tale of power, perseverance and passion . . . a great story in the hands of a master storyteller."-The Wall Street Journal The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. 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. "[A] compelling portrait not just of a Russian titan, but also of a flesh-and-blood woman."-Newsweek "An absorbing, satisfying biography."-Los Angeles Times "Juicy and suspenseful."-The New York Times Book Review "A great life, indeed, and irresistibly told."-Salon NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • The Washington Post • USA Today • The Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • Chicago Tribune • Newsweek/The Daily Beast • Salon • Vogue • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Providence Journal • Washington Examiner • South Florida Sun-Sentinel • BookPage • Bookreporter • Publishers Weekly1 Sophia's Childhood Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst was hardly distinguishable in the swarm of obscure, penurious noblemen who cluttered the landscape and society of politically fragmented eighteenth-century Germany. Possessed neither of exceptional virtues nor alarming vices, Prince Christian exhibited the solid virtues of his Junker lineage: a stern sense of order, discipline, integrity, thrift, and piety, along with an unshakable lack of interest in gossip, intrigue, literature, and the wider world in general. Born in 1690, he had made a career as a professional soldier in the army of King Frederick William of Prussia. His military service in campaigns against Sweden, France, and Austria was meticulously conscientious, but his exploits on the battlefield were unremarkable, and nothing occurred either to accelerate or retard his career. When peace came, the king, who was once heard to refer to his loyal officer as "that idiot, Zerbst," gave him command of an infantry regiment garrisoning the port of Stettin, recently acquired from Sweden, on the Baltic coast of Pomerania. Th...

ldquo;Enthralling.”—USA Today
 
“Gripping.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman has it all: jealous mothers, indulgent eccentrics, greedy social climbers, intrigue, infidelity, murder, political coups, sex, war and passion.”—Bookreporter
 
“Exhaustively researched and dramatically narrated.”—The Boston Globe
 
“[Robert K. Massie] brings great authority to this sweeping account of Catherine and her times. . . . a compelling read.”—The Washington Post
 
“Meticulously, dramatically rendered.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
 
“Reads like an epic Russian novel.”—San Antonio Express-News
 
“Will transport history lovers.”—People
 
“Massie makes Catherine’s story dramatic and immediate.”—The Kansas City Star
 
“Graceful and engrossing.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
“A biography as captivating as its subject.”—MacLean’s

Autorentext

Robert K. Massie

Klappentext

"[A] tale of power, perseverance and passion . . . a great story in the hands of a master storyteller."-The Wall Street Journal

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. 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.

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

"An absorbing, satisfying biography."-Los Angeles Times

"Juicy and suspenseful."-The New York Times Book Review

"A great life, indeed, and irresistibly told."-Salon

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The New York Times • The Washington Post • USA Today • The Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • Chicago Tribune • Newsweek/The Daily Beast • Salon • Vogue • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Providence Journal • Washington Examiner • South Florida Sun-Sentinel • BookPage • Bookreporter • Publishers Weekly

Zusammenfassung
**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…