Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by…

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (edition 2011)

by Robert K. Massie (Author)

Series: The Romanovs (2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
2,930	144	4,766	(4.09)	258
Presents a reconstruction of the eighteenth-century empress's life that covers her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage, and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.

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Member:	a1stitcher
Title:	Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Authors:	Robert K. Massie (Author)
Info:	Random House (2011), Edition: 1st, 656 pages
Collections:	Read, Your library, Currently reading, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
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Tags:	books-i-own, russia, non-fiction

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Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

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Showing 1-5 of 143 (next | show all)

A veeery detailed account. But it looks like the author sympathizes with his heroine.

Den85 | Jan 3, 2024 |

Most of the book had me very interested. I don't know much about Russian history and it was nice to learn so many new things. I had to force myself near the end unfortunately. Also, I was not at all interested in the sexual deviancy of a philosopher. It wasn't necessary to add those details, in my opinion. (

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mintymoo5 | Nov 13, 2023 |

I don't know why I didn't post a review for myself here. Probably because I (rightly, so far) knew this book had ignited an undying passion in me for more Massie and more Habsburgs. I am waiting for my next cycle of biography and/or history thirst to read another Massie book, but I spent atweeks delving into wikipedia and its bibliography lists/links all while filling my "Kim Academy" journal with notes. I think about Catherine often. (

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Kim.Sasso | Aug 27, 2023 |

The back cover of this book used several one word descriptions to describe it. "Enthralling, Masterful, Admirable, Riveting, & Compelling. All of these are totally applicable descriptions of the book, but since this is a book about Catherine The Great, why did no one include the most obvious adjective? Since no one did, I will. Great ! (

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kevinkevbo | Jul 14, 2023 |

I listened to this as an audiobook and I'm not sure if I would have responded the same way to reading it in print. It's wonderfully researched and engaging but it also seemed repetitive and sometimes I felt Massie was patronizing Catherine, like when he would comment on her looks or her romances. As a historian he set Catherine in a complex political world without judging her prejudices or personal behavior by modern standards (like her neglect of her son or her aggression toward Turkey and Poland). Yet somehow despite its length and detail the book ends up feeling rather slight. (

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VOlsen | Jun 14, 2023 |

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thingScore 88

Imperial biographer Robert K. Massie paints a satisfying portrait of Catherine the woman and Catherine the ruler, and her attempts to modernize and westernize Russia.

added by MikeBriggs | editLos Angeles Times, Wendy Smith (Nov 27, 2011)

"Pulitzer Prize winner Massie offers the tale of a princess who went to Russia at 14 and became one of the most powerful women in history. Born into minor German nobility, she transformed herself into an empress by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant, curious mind, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers, and reaching the throne, tried using their principles to rule the vast, backward empire."

added by Kayla1318 | editGood Reads.com

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Robert K. Massie	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Deakins, Mark	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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The Romanovs (2)

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Canonical title

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Original title

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Alternative titles

Catherine the Great

Original publication date

2011-11-08

People/Characters

Catherine the Great

Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst

Joanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp

Elizabeth Cardel

Charles Peter Ulrich, Duke of Holstein

(show all 44 items)

Important places

Szczecin, West Pomeranian, Poland

Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Golovin Palace, Moscow, Russia

Kolomenskoe Palace, Moscow, Russia

Mariyinsky Palace, Kiev, Ukraine

(show all 10 items)

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

"the best description of her is that she is a women as well as an empress." - The Earl of Buckinghamshire, British ambassador to Russia, 1762-65

Dedication

For Deborah.

And for Bob Loomis. Twenty-four years, four books. Thank you.

First words

Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst was hardly distinguishable in the swarm of obscure, penurious noblemen who cluttered the landscape and society of politically fragmented eighteenth-century German.

Quotations

Your Majesty may create me a field marshal, but I defy you or anyone to make even a tolerable captain out of me. - Alexis Razumovsky

You know who's daughter I am. Follow me! - Elizabeth to the Preobrazhensky Guardsmen

He allowed himself to be dethroned like a child being sent to bed. - Frederick the Great of Peter III

The bullet is a fool, the bayonet a brave lad. - Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

Nikita Zotov

Robert K. Massie

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▾Book descriptions

Presents a reconstruction of the eighteenth-century empress's life that covers her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage, and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.

All the special qualities that Robert K. Massie brought to Nicholas and Alexandra and Peter the Great are present here: historical accuracy, depth of understanding, felicity of style, mastery of detail, ability to shatter myth, and a rare genius for finding and expressing the human drama in extraordinary lives.

History offers few stories richer in drama than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, this eternally fascinating woman is returned to life.

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