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Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Author:
Massie, Robert K.
Biographee:
Catherine II, Empress of Russia
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Class:
Biography
Age: Adult
Language: English
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LC: DK170
Print Run: 150000
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ISBN-13: 9780679456728
LCCN: 2011015279
Imprint: Random House
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Pub Date: 11/08/2011
Availability: Out of Stock Indefinitely
List: $40.00
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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xiii, 625 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), maps ; 25 cm.
H 9.54",
W 6.6",
D 1.66",
2.18 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Insight Catalog: Adult
Brodart's TOP Adult Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Library Journal Bestsellers
Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers: Adult Nonfiction
Public Library Core Collection: Nonfiction, 16th ed.
Public Library Core Collection: Nonfiction, 17th ed.
Publishers Weekly Bestsellers
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Awards:
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Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Winners
BookPage Best Books
Booklist Editors Choice
Booklist Starred Reviews
Indies Choice/E.B. White Read-Aloud Book Award Winners and Honors
New York Times Notable Books
Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Booklist
Publishers Weekly
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TIPS Subjects:
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History--1500-1899
Government
Asia
Biography, Individual
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BISAC Subjects: |
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Royalty
HISTORY / Modern / 18th Century
HISTORY / Russia / General
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LC Subjects:
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Catherine, II,, Empress of Russia,, 1729-1796
Empresses, Russia, Biography
Russia, History, Catherine II, 1762-1796
Russia, Kings and rulers, Biography
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SEARS Subjects: |
Catherine, II,, Empress of Russia,, 1729-1796
Empresses, Russia, Biography
Russia, History
Russia, Kings and rulers, Biography
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Reading Programs: |
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Adult Titles | 08/01/2011 |
| This is the long-awaited biography of one of the most fascinating and important women in history, Catherine the Great as she struggled for power and then tried to bring Russia into the modern world. Massie explains: how she tried to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe; how she managed numerous lovers; how she handled court intrigue, wars, and more. LP 05/09/2011 544pp illus. & maps. Author res: NY. Author tour. Large first printing (D) 10-Digit ISBN: 0679456724; 13-Digit ISBN: 9780679456728 Previous: Castles of Steel; Loosing the Bonds, et al. BRODART CO., c2011. |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Booklist | 10/15/2011 |
| The popularity of Massie's biographies of Russian czars presages a comparable reception for his presentation of Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, as Catherine the Great was originally named. She appeals to readers for several reasons. Those interested in the expansion and development of the Russian Empire under her reign (1762-96) can delve into her conduct of war and diplomacy, cultivation of Enlightenment notables, and attempted reforms of law and government. And those fascinated by the intimate intrigues of dynasties will find an extraordinary example in Catherine's ascent from minor German princess to absolute autocrat of Russia. Court life is Massie's strong suit, though, which he develops with a well-referenced thoroughness that begins with Catherine's own account (The Memoirs of Catherine the Great, Mark Cruse, ed., 2005) of surviving palace politics as consort to the eccentric and disliked crown prince, Paul. The memoir, which suspends in 1758, alludes to another aspect of Catherine that tantalizes royalty readers, her liaisons with courtiers, most famously, Grigory Potemkin. Massie's treatment of them proves sympathetically perceptive to Catherine's warmth and her estrangement from them, humanizing the real woman behind the imperial persona. Written dramatically and almost visually, Massie's Catherine may attain the classic status that his Peter the Great (1980) and Nicholas and Alexandra (1967) already have. Gilbert Taylor. 636pg. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2011. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 09/05/2011 |
| The Pulitzer-winning biographer of Nicholas and Alexandra and of Peter the Great, Massie now relates the life of a minor German princess, Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, who became Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796). She was related through her ambitious mother to notable European royalty; her husband-to-be, the Russian grand duke Peter, was the only living grandson of Peter the Great. As Massie relates, during her disastrous marriage to Peter, Catherine bore three children by three different lovers, and she and Peter were controlled by Peter's all- powerful aunt, Empress Elizabeth, who took physical possession of Catherine's firstborn, Paul. Six months into her husband's incompetent reign as Peter III, Catherine, 33, who had always believed herself superior to her husband, dethroned him, but probably did not plan his subsequent murder, though, Massie writes, a shadow of suspicion hung over her. Confident, cultured, and witty, Catherine avoided excesses of personal power and ruled as a benevolent despot. Magnifying the towering achievements of Peter the Great, she imported European culture into Russia, from philosophy to medicine, education, architecture, and art. Effectively utilizing Catherine's own memoirs, Massie once again delivers a masterful, intimate, and tantalizing portrait of a majestic monarch. (Nov.). 688pg. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2011. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| BookPage | 11/01/2011 |
| This review exceeds line limitation. Please see Book Page Issue November 2011, page 15. BOOKPAGE, c2011. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 10/01/2011 |
| Roughly every decade since Nicholas and Alexandra (1967), popular historian Massie (Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, 2003, etc.) publishes a fat volume of European history for an eager readership; his latest will not disappoint. Catherine the Great (1729-1796) was princess of a minor German state whose big chance arrived when she married Russian Czarina Elizabeth's nephew and successor, a minor German duke who was unattractive, immature and lazy. Catherine was the opposite, so she passed a stormy, mostly unhappy 17 years before Elizabeth's death in 1761; six months later Catherine snatched the throne from her husband. Under her energetic leadership, Russia modernized, expanded its empire and became accepted as one of the great powers of Europe. As attracted to Enlightenment ideas as contemporary monarchs, Catherine corresponded with and showered honors on Voltaire, Diderot and other French philosophers, and considered herself an enlightened despot but quickly gave up reform efforts in the face of aristocratic resistance. In the end, she ruled with an iron fist, tolerated little opposition and brutally suppressed several rebellions. Massie writes old-fashioned politics-and-great-men history, but few readers will resist his gripping description of colorful national leaders, their cutthroat rivalries and incessant wars. Most of this occurs after the 250-page mark, when Catherine takes power. Until then, the author recounts interminable petty intrigues, love affairs and itineraries of overprivileged, underemployed Russian aristocrats. His portraits of Catherine and other leading figures reveals a seemingly clairvoyant knowledge of their thoughts, emotions and conversation. Despite these lowbrow historical techniques, Massie delivers a fascinating account of dog-eat-dog politics in 18th-century Europe and the larger-than-life Russian empress who gave as good as she got. 688pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2011. |
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| Library Journal | 11/15/2011 |
| As with his past best-selling biographies of Russian elites, Pulitzer Prize winner Massie (Peter the Great) does a wonderful job of pulling readers into his narrative, this one taking us into 18th-century Russia and the life of a young German princess, born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst, destined to change the course of her adopted country's history. From the young Sophie's journey to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth to her death after 34 years on the Russian throne (1762-96), readers will be absorbed and in sympathy with Massie's Catherine. His engaging narrative informs and entertains, covering everything from Catherine's friendships, marriage to Peter III, love affairs, political and intellectual beliefs, and attempts to reform the country according to ideals of the Enlightenment (she corresponded with many Enlightenment figures), to her reactions to major world events including the American Revolution and the Reign of Terror in France. VERDICT This book is aimed at the nonspecialist, as Massie does not present new sources or new angles of research. But it's a gripping narrative for general biography or Russian tsarist history buffs, an excellent choice for public, high school, and undergraduate libraries. (See Prepub Alert, 5/9/11.)--Sonnet Ireland, Univ. of New Orleans Lib. 656pg. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2011. |
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| Library Journal Prepub Alert | 05/09/2011 |
| No one does Russian history like Massie, who got many readers hooked with Nicholas and Alexandra and went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for Peter the Great. He's absorbing and accessible yet well grounded; his new work should fascinate. Iron-hard ruler of Russia in the 1700s, Catherine expanded the borders of her empire whil bringing it into Europe's cultural orbit; she famously juggled lovers while deftly managing court intrigue. Buy wherever you have upscale readers. 544pg. LJ Prepub Alert Online Review. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2011. |
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9780679456728,dl.it[0].title
| Review Citations |
| New York Times Book Review | 11/20/2011 |
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