From the acclaimed author of "Grandes Horizontales" comes a book
that the "Washington Post" calls "a vivid portrait of a sensual and
intellectual woman."
Dutiful daughter, passionate lover, doting grandmother, tireless
legislator, generous patron of artists and philosophers---Empress
Catherine II was all these things, and more. Her reign, the longest
in Russian imperial history, lasted from 1762 until her death in
1796; during these years she realized Peter the Great's ambition to
establish Russia as a major European power and to transform its new
capital, St. Petersburg, into a city to rival Paris and London.
Yet Catherine was not Russian by birth and had no legitimate
claim to the Russian throne; she seized it and held on to it,
through wars, rebellions, and plagues, by the force of her
personality and an unshakable belief in her own destiny. Using
Catherine's own correspondence, as well as contemporary accounts by
courtiers, ambassadors, and foreign visitors, Virginia Rounding
penetrates the character of this powerful, fascinating, and
surprisingly sympathetic eighteenth-century figure.
Dutiful daughter, passionate lover, doting grandmother, tireless
legislator, generous patron of artists and philosophers--Empress
Catherine II was all these things, and more. Her reign, the longest
in Russian imperial history, lasted from 1762 until her death in
1796; during these years she realized Peter the Great's ambition to
establish Russia as a major European power and to transform its new
capital, St. Petersburg, into a city to rival Paris and
London.
Yet Catherine was not Russian by birth and had no legitimate claim
to the Russian throne; she seized it and held on to it, through
wars, rebellions, and plagues, by the force of her personality and
an unshakable belief in her own destiny. Using Catherine's own
correspondence, as well as contemporary accounts by courtiers,
ambassadors, and foreign visitors, Virginia Rounding penetrates the
character of this powerful, fascinating, and surprisingly
sympathetic eighteenth-century figure. "Scarcely more has been
written about any Russian ruler, unless it be Peter, than
Catherine, but rarely is it done in a way that captures so well her
personality and life-shaping experiences. This is not a study of
Russia looking in the window at Catherine; it is being in the room
with her and looking out to catch glimpses of Russia. Her stifled
youth (having been brought to Russia for marriage at age 15), her
precocious ambitions as the teenage bride of the tsar-to-be, her
early dalliances, the plotting that brought her to power, the
intimate male alliances she struck throughout a 34-year reign, the
differentiated affections for son and grandsons, and, above all,
her private thoughts about people, power, and her purpose--all are
carefully reconstructed from remarkably revealing memoirs and the
dispatches of discerning foreign ambassadors. The book is so
readable because it brings Catherine alive, and not least in her
relations with the men she drew to her side."--"Foreign
Affairs"
"Rounding focuses on the pageant of Russian court ceremonies . .
. and on Catherine's personal and romantic life: her love for her
grandchildren and her greyhounds, her testy relationship with her
autocratic son, her sharp eye for a good painting, her dry wit, her
appetite for ideas. Rounding makes copious use of the documentary
evidence that Catherine and her courtiers left behind."--Amanda
Vaill, "The Washington Post"
"Born Sophie Frederica Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine II
was arguably the ablest monarch in Russian history. Her reign began
with a coup: she deposed her husband, Peter III, and let him be
murdered. Rounding explores both the private and the public figure,
culling with expertise from archival sources. By nature, Catherine
was humane, with a personality that blended candor and guile.
Unlike her predecessors or successors, she encouraged her ministers
to express themselves without fear of retribution, even when they
disagreed with her. Her energy and intelligence paid off.
Reflecting on her reign, she listed '29 [new] government districts
. . . 30 conventions and treaties, 78 military victories, 88
'memorable edicts concerning laws or foundations' . . . 123 'edicts
for the relief of the people' . . . 492 achievements in all.' She
purchased numerous artworks for the Hermitage, corresponded
regularly with Voltaire and Diderot, and served as patron to
artisans, architects, and educators. Until the excesses of the
French Revolution soured her, she enthusiastically supported the
Enlightenment. This is an attractive account of the reign of a most
remarkable woman; Rounding's use of the voluminous and lively court
correspondence is a plus. Strongly recommended."--David Keymer,
"Library Journal"
"Lively biography of a much misunderstood, most gifted ruler of
Russia . . . Catherine, Rounding makes clear, understood that sex
was an element of power. She had come to a St. Petersburg that was
still mostly a metropolis of log cabins to be married off to young
Peter III, who, it emerged, was a bit of a dimwit and rather easily
controlled . . . Catherine was, after all, well-read, fluent in
several languages and given to philosophy and literature, though in
later life her philosophy was of a practical and even Machiavellian
nature . . . Peter kept his distance from her, pushing her into the
willing arms of a succession of dashing cavaliers and counselors
who helped her build St. Petersburg into a mighty city and Russia
into a mighty empire; in this regard, Rounding ranks the empress as
equal to or greater than her predecessor Peter the Great, who was
certainly more murderous than she. A welcome study of a
'multifaceted, very eighteenth-century woman.'"--"Kirkus
Reviews"
"This lengthy biography of Russia's greatest female ruler is by
no means as salacious as the subtitle suggests, but this
sympathetic portrayal certainly focuses on Catherine's private
life. British scholar Rounding relies on memoirs, private letters
and previous monographs as she details how, after dissolution of
the unhappy marriage that brought Catherine to Russia from Germany,
the empress juggled her relationships with men as she attempted to
thrust Russia into the modern era and make it a European power.
Indeed, Rounding offers an intriguing . . . thesis that Catherine
was most effective as a ruler when she was satisfied in her private
life. That life was never dull: Catherine's final lover was 40
years her junior, helping to give rise to wild but untrue rumors
about her sexual appetite. Rounding's prose matches the excitement
of its subject, with vivid portrayals of the late 18th-century
Russian court and the machinations of Catherine and those around
her . . . Rounding's work will appeal to Catherine-philes and those
interested in women's history."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred
review)
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
