Catherine the Great

by Henri Troyat, Joan Pinkham (Translator)

Overview

By delving into the life of Catherine the Great, this acclaimed biographer reveals the rich tapestry of Russia’s past, giving insight into the paradoxical character of its people and their stunning evolution from feudalism to communism to their present-day struggle for a free-market democracy.

This is history as it is rarely written today—elegant, witty, dramatic, and with an intimate knowledge of its characters. And what better subject for a biography than one of history's most powerful women, the German-born Russian empress whose adopted language and culture were French, and whose most loyal correspondents were Voltaire and Diderot? Troyat details the various lives of Catherine II: the ambitious child, the acquiescent yet firm grand duchess, the forceful politician and patron of the arts, the belligerent war maker, and the doting grandparent.
 
“A remarkable woman . . . A riveting book.”—Mary Renault
 
“Brilliantly captures one of the most colorful figures of all time.”—Doubleday Book Club News

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780452011205
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/01/1994
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Henri Troyat was a Russian-born French author, biographer, historian and novelist.

The daughter of a writer and translator, Joan Pinkham translated nearly a dozen books over her career, including Pierre Vallières’ Nègres blancs d’Amérique.

Table of Contents

Translator's Note
I. Figchen
II. En Route
III. The Steps of the Throne
IV. Betrothal
V. Marriage
VI. The Virgin Wife
VII. Love and Motherhood
VIII. First Political Skirmishes
IX. The Big Scene
X. Love, Gathering Darkness, Perfidy
XI. The Reign of Peter III
XII. The Coup d'Etat
XIII. The Apprenticeship of Power
XIV. Incense and Blood
XV. "Legislomania"
XVI. The French and the Turks
XVII. The Marriage of the Grand Duke
XVIII. Diderot and Pugachev
XIX. Potemkin
XX. Catherine the Great
XXI. Lanskoy
XXII. The Journey to the Crimea
XXIII. Wars
XXIV. Zubov Against Potemkin
XXV. Poland and France
XXVI. The End

Notes
Bibliography
Chronology
Index

Editorial Reviews

A remarkable woman . . . A riveting book.”—Mary Renault
 
“Brilliantly captures one of the most colorful figures of all time.”—Doubleday Book Club News

From the Publisher