Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Robert Massie, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs, returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman tells 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, are all vividly brought to life here. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great.
 
“[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
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

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