Catherine the Great (1729–1796)
Author of The Memoirs of Catherine the Great
About the Author
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Series
Works by Catherine the Great
Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin (2004) 18 copies
Monsieur, Madame. Der Briefwechsel zwischen der Zarin und dem Philosophen (1991) — Author — 4 copies
L'impératrice et l'abbé. Un duel littéraire inédit entre Catherine II et l'abbé Chappe d'Auteroche (2003) 3 copies
Secret Memoirs of Catherine II and the Court of St. Petersburg during Her Reign and that of Paul I (1900) 1 copy
Life as a Grand Duchess 1 copy
Associated Works
The Queen's Mirror: Fairy Tales by German Women, 1780-1900 (2001) — Contributor — 46 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Catherine the Great
- Legal name
- Anhalt-Zerbst, Sophie Friederike von
Russia, Catherine II, Empress of - Other names
- Sophie Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst
- Birthdate
- 1729-05-02
- Date of death
- 1796-11-17
- Gender
- female
- Education
- governess
tutors - Occupations
- Empress of Russia (1762-1796)
Empress Consort of Russia (1761-1762) - Organizations
- House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
- Relationships
- Dashkova, Ekaterina (friend, lady-in-waiting)
- Short biography
- After an unlikely beginning as Sophie Friederike Auguste, daughter of a minor prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (Prussia), she married the future Russian Emperor Peter III and then seized power from him in 1762. Thereafter, she reigned alone as Empress Catherine II until her death. She expanded the Russian Empire and helped modernize it, furthering the efforts of Peter the Great. An interesting note: Her son the Emperor Paul I hated his mother so much that he enacted a rule that no woman could ever again inherit the Russian throne.
- Nationality
- Germany (Anhalt-Zerbst, Prussia)
Russia(marriage) - Birthplace
- Stettin, Pomerania
- Places of residence
- Anhalt-Zerbst, German Empire
St Petersburg, Russian Empire - Place of death
- St Petersburg, Russian Empire
- Burial location
- Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Fortress, St Petersburg, Russia
- Map Location
- Germany
Russia
Members
Reviews
Easily readable translation. A fascinating look into the seemingly petty, yet vicious maneuvring that Catherine dealt with at the court of her husband's aunt, the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Of course she stops the memoir before it gets really interesting, that is before her coup against her own husband Peter III.
An interesting (if clearly skewed) historical read. I was amused by her utter lack of detail in some aspects of life (such as illness, her children) and the minutia which she felt the need to relate in other areas (lineage, clothing). Odd that her last memoir (this is the third of three) deals entirely with her life before becoming empress.
This book includes an actual memoir written by Catherine the Great herself which spans the period 1728 - 1759. While this text provides a detailed preface which sets the stage and context for the memoir to follow, the memoir itself only tells a fraction of the story. Most obviously, it feels too short because it ends before Catherine's 1762 coup. I recommend reading a biography of Catherine the Great immediately following or at the same time as reading this memoir, to get the full picture. show more Catherine was, after all, writing in part to justify her coup and subsequent reign, so the memoir hides more than it reveals. show less
Book covers years 1728 thru 1759. I think it was pretty dry and book really doesn't need prologue of 100 pages.
Lists
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 35
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 325
- Popularity
- #72,883
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 4
- ISBNs
- 28
- Languages
- 6
- Favorited
- 2
