An enjoyable biography, and filled with the sort of details that made Catherine the Great, her many lovers, and many of her courtiers came alive. We are fortunate that Catherine maintained such a voluminous correspondence and did a great deal of personal writing, both of which the book liberally quoted. In addition, a large number of letters from foreign diplomats (especially the series of British ambassadors to her court) describing the details of life at court were preserved, and were also quoted from many times. The combination provided an excellent insight into how Catherine thought, the broader circumstances surrounding her activities, and how she approached what she considered her duties as Empress. For example, her letters describe how she decided to have herself and her children inoculated against smallpox at a time when the technique was uncommon and not without risks because she believed in taking selfless actions to improve the public health and to set a good example.

In addition, "the horse story" is a complete myth, and an autopsy showed that she actually died of a cerebral stroke

I appreciated how Rounding enhanced the readability of the book by using modern spellings, and using the name Catherine only for Catherine the Great (there were many other "Catherines" but the Russian spelling was used for clarity), and mostly omitted the patronymics (except for the royal family). Both of these made everything much easier to follow. In addition, she was careful to specify when she was using the old calendar to date events and when she was using the new calendar (Russia was still using the old calendar at that point, although most of the rest of Europe was using the new), so it was also easier to keep track of what happened when. ( )

An enjoyable biography, and filled with the sort of details that made Catherine the Great, her many lovers, and many of her courtiers came alive. We are fortunate that Catherine maintained such a voluminous correspondence and did a great deal of personal writing, both of which the book liberally quoted. In addition, a large number of letters from foreign diplomats (especially the series of British ambassadors to her court) describing the details of life at court were preserved, and were also quoted from many times. The combination provided an excellent insight into how Catherine thought, the broader circumstances surrounding her activities, and how she approached what she considered her duties as Empress. For example, her letters describe how she decided to have herself and her children inoculated against smallpox at a time when the technique was uncommon and not without risks because she believed in taking selfless actions to improve the public health and to set a good example.

In addition, "the horse story" is a complete myth, and an autopsy showed that she actually died of a cerebral stroke

I appreciated how Rounding enhanced the readability of the book by using modern spellings, and using the name Catherine only for Catherine the Great (there were many other "Catherines" but the Russian spelling was used for clarity), and mostly omitted the patronymics (except for the royal family). Both of these made everything much easier to follow. In addition, she was careful to specify when she was using the old calendar to date events and when she was using the new calendar (Russia was still using the old calendar at that point, although most of the rest of Europe was using the new), so it was also easier to keep track of what happened when. ( )

A -very- indepth look at Catherine the Great's life. It's exceedingly detailed, and yet I didn't really get tired of reading. Admittedly, it took me quite a while to get through it all, but I did. I never even thought about leaving it unfinished.

All the detail of the biography makes me inclined to believe the author about almost everything, but Virginia Rounding paints her in such a positive light that I can't help but wonder. Nevertheless, I'm pretty convinced that Catherine the Great really was great. She just...had some crazy tendencies and some crazy descendants. ( )

Catherine is a particular favorite of mine. I have great respect and admiration for her. She dragged Russia forward and forced elightenment, education, relgious reform, modern medicine and sanitation upon her subjects. Certainly it is true that she was not democratic. But that is to judge her by a standard that would have been unrecognized by anyone in her part of the world at that time. Though she was not without faults, the good she did far outweighed those shortcomings. Moreover, if Catherine had not been on the throne, what are we to suppose would have been the fate of Russia under the rule of whoever else happened to seize power? It is not as if she were the only thing standing between Russia and freedom. Quite the contrary, she was standing between Russia and even worse oppression.

While I am enjoying reading this book, I confess that I am also irritated by it. It is far too popular and unscholarly. There are no references and very few notes. What few notes there are, are not tied to the text so the reader is left to figure out as best he can what goes where. Far better biographies of Catherine exist. ( )

Admittedly this book took me a long time to finish (this is in large part due to the fact that I'm not the speediest reader and I tend to have more than one book going at a time), but as far as nonfiction goes, this is officially a favorite. In fact, it is one of the better books I've ever read; fiction, nonfiction, or otherwise. In "Love, Sex, Power", Rounding brings to life a fantastic minx of woman that put Russia on the map as a legitimate world player. The reader is thoroughly entertained and educated. So often with biographies, the storytelling becomes dry and muddled with incoherent facts. However, with this book, Rounding cleverly weaves history, people and legend into one enthralling story. From the infamous “horse rumors” to “Potemkin Villages”, the life of Catherine is depicted whole-heartedly. In many ways, this biography read like a novel, and a thrilling one at that.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Suggested With: Many many midday hours during which one can get wrapped up with a bowl of soup or cup of tea. ( )