Fantastic look at a misunderstood Woman/Ruler

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	• Catherine the Great Henri Troyat Plume, 1994 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Intriguing Woman

Catherine thhe Great, the little teenage Princess who came from germanic heritage, developed into a scheming, pitiless, yet loving ruler. The author takes us through her development with wonderful descriptions of those times. One can compare her reign in Russia with the development of the American Revolution and be astonished at the paths of the two nations. It is well worth reading and helps us understand the Russia of that time and of later times.

A Passionate Lady Indeed.

The portrait painted in this biography is one of a complex, but calculating lady, who had her sights set on acquiring power at an early age. The focus is on her life at court and her accomplishements in building natiional treasures. It is somewhat sparse on the details of her military actions but does a nice job of providing a sense of the period-especially with regards to France and Voltaire. Her many favorite men are also detailed.

It is a good biorgraphy, but not a page-turner.

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Catherine the Great

I visited the Catherine the Great exhibition at the Beaux Arts Museum in Montreal a few weeks ago and was quite impressed with her legacy as a liberal humanist, Russian nationalist and creator of the Hermitage. Catherine penned her own memoirs and many state documents. I was so impressed with her trenchant and revealing prose that I ordered the Troyat biography. Monsieur Troyat takes the gilt off some of Catherine's glory, but he writes as well as his subject and dispenses opinion as freely as she did.

So, is there anything to her reputation as a nymphomaniac? Not in a clinical sense- though she did cause plenty of scandal by always keeping a vibrant young stud in her bed. Many of them were rewarded with government positions they were unqualified for and Russia had to bear her folly. All her ex-lovers were handsomely retired with huge settlements of money, estates and serfs. Consequently, her liberal idealism suffered when it squared off against bodily passion.

The complete tale unfolds like a soap opera. On balance, Catherine meant well, worked diligently and often did the right thing. She was certainly the most significant woman leader of the times.

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Fantastic look at a misunderstood Woman/Ruler

Catherine as described by Henri Troyat is a total complexity of virtues. Born into a noble family with little chance of rule she pounces at the opportunity to marry into the Romanov family. Described as more of a marriage of convenience than one of any true affection Catherine marries Peter III but before long had him murdered and took the role of Czarina for herself. While this murder in many ways defined the rule of Catherine it was on her part a calculated effort for the growth of the monarchy and strengthening of the Russian Empire. She further looks over her son Paul as a worthy heir to the throne and only after much reluctance does she allow that him to take rule upon her death. She does much to also ensure that her grandson Alexander is raised properly to take rule of the country and acts more like a mother to him than his actual birth mother. Besides this she is also an ardent follower of the enlightenment (before the French revolution) and imbues a sense of liberalism in her grandsonas she considers the thoughts of the philosophes in her decisions. Troyat also brings up the issue of her many lovers including the upstart Plato Zubov. These lovers did cause a great deal of controversy during her rule but by no means were they and all consuming passion of Catherine's as many believe.

This biography is very well written and serves as a great account of a Ruler who is widely known but very misunderstood. The works upholds the belief that Catherine was an able and strong ruler who did more to build the power of the Romanov dynasty in the 19th century. It is clear that the author did ample research and while he is not totally revisionist he is very apologetic of Catherine as he paints a balanced but overall favorable picture of the Empress. This is a very fine work and is definitely worth reading. After this you may wish to read his follow up "Alexander of Russia"

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In Love with Russian History

I finished this thick book in four working days. This story of one of the most efficient Autocrat of All Russias is extremely compelling.

I'll leave aside all moral judgement but, there is no question that Catherine the Great had tremendous ambition and the means for it. This biography of hers helps readers understand an important chunk of Russian history at a crucial time of wars and revolutions.

Troyat's writing is crystal clear in style. Having read it in French, if it is translated as well as it should be, it will be excellent in English as well. I recommend all his books. A good follow-up, if you don't mind the 1200 pages or so: "War and Peace" by Tolstoy for the context during the napoleonic war.

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