Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman, Robert K. Massie (4.0)
Mr. Massie said that he tried to write Catherine’s story
as if we were seeing it through her eyes. I think that is what makes this book
stand apart. I had read a biography of this empress of Russia long ago and,
while she was very interesting, the book was not. Massie has taken a historical
character and fleshed her out with information found in numerous letters and
with much research of the time period. Keeping the drama flowing is
particularly difficult given the numerous characters and various Russian name
changes. He starts her story in her teenage years as she is sent to Russia
(from Germany) to meet the Crown Prince Peter III, the heir to the Russian
throne and possibly her new husband. Massie addresses many of the rumors about
Catherine (celibate marriage, three children by three different men, Potemkin
villages, etc.) with logical conclusions based on the data he could find. It
was generally easy to agree with his conclusions. There is no doubt that she
was one of the most forward thinking, politically savvy leaders of her time and
it is astounding to think that she was one of the strongest leaders of Russia,
yet was not Russian and likely produced children who were not actually from the
Romanov lineage, but who subsequently ruled Russia. While telling Catherine’s story, we also get
a primer in Polish, Prussian and French history during that time period, all
very interesting and pertinent to her actions. Maybe not surprisingly,
Catherine’s and Potemkin’s work in the Crimea was just a prelude to the current
issues in that area of the world. Russia then, as now, wanted that lovely area
with its access to the Black Sea.
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