Catherine the very great
350907
A wealth of historical material is woven together to provide an epic account of the reign of Catherine 11 - the Great - and her guiding influence on Russia and surrounding territories in the late 1700s. She was some woman in a man's world - and still found time to satiate her sexual appetite! This book captures an important part of Russia's history.
1490535
I purchased this book for my God-Daughter.  The illustrations are beautiful, filled with Orthodox churches from all over the world.  What I like best though, is the exuberance and joy that comes across as Catherine experiences her first Pascha.  I loved seeing all the things I remember as a child, from sleeping on a blanket through portions of the service because I was too tired to staying awake, to playing with my candle, to the excitement of shouting "Christ is Risen!" in every language known by the diverse community in which I grew up.  This book captures all of it so perfectly.
407886
It was a great character study of Queen Catherine.  I am, admittedly, becoming a huge fan of the Tudor/Lancaster/York history, so I really enjoyed learning more about the beginning of the line.
2183328
This book was fascinating! Gives you a look inside the Russian ballet from Catherine the Great to today. Wonderfully written, gives a thorough history of the ballet as well as political times and how they shape one another.
526017
I had the privilege of seeing and reviewing the original manuscript of this book.  Dr. Carmen Butcher has translated St. Hildegard's works into modern English that is very readable.  Those familiar with St. Hildegard and her works will appreciate this reader and those new to her will have a great introduction to this wonderful saint and follower of the Rule of St. Benedict.  Dr. Butcher in the introduction presents a short biography of St. Hildegard.  In my original review I suggest that if Pope Benedict is looking for another woman to declare a Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard would make a wonderful candidate.  St. Hildegard was very influential in her time.  She had the special permission of the Church to preach to clerics and lay alike.  Pope Eugene III read some of her works at a synod he was attending and praised her.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux also praised her as did many clerics and lay people of note.  Many sought her advice and aid.  Again this reader by Dr. Butcher is a great introduction to this holy saint of God, St. Hildegard.
1702616
Born into the ambitious Howard family, Catherine has never had much control over her life and fate. Her cousin, the infamous Anne Boleyn, lured King Henry VIII into marriage then met a grisly end. Hoping for a marriage that will benefit the family, Catherine's relatives send her to court in 1540, when she is fifteen. There, Catherine catches the eye of the king, who decides to divorce his current wife, Anne of Cleves, and marry her. Though Catherine would prefer to marry for love, one does not refuse the king, and even if she could, her family is determined to gain power through her marriage.

From the start, Catherine feels like she is living a lie, and playing a part to be the wife Henry desires. He wanted a pure, innocent maiden, and Catherine had a foolish and youthful love affair before coming to court, an event the king must never learn about. Woefully unprepared for the life she must live, Catherine struggles with her own immaturity and the conflicting desires of the king and her family, and is forced to make terrible choices that will lead to her doom.

The King's Rose is a wonderful historical novel for young adults - and adults as well - about the life of King Henry VIII's fifth and youngest wife, Catherine Howard. The author did a good job of bringing Catherine to life and making it understandable why she made the choices she did. Catherine is tragic figure - a young girl, unprepared for the life of a queen, forced into a terrible situation by her family in a time when a young woman had few choices and little right to control her own destiny. I highly recommend this book to readers who are fascinated by the Tudors as well as those who enjoy historical fiction in general.
4731146
I have often wondered about Catherine Carey, Anne Boleyn's neice and possibly Henry VIII's daughter.  Nobody ever bothered to right a historical fiction book about her before.  I was very happy to come across this one.  The author does a good job of telling Catherine's story.  It kept me interested throughout the entire book.  If you are interested in the Tudor era but are sick of another book about one of Henry VIII's many wives then give this book a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed.
1894303
This was a gift for my Mother. Catherine wrote several great Christian books. Her first book, "A Man Called Peter", is based on her life with her husband. It should be read first or at least see the movie based on this book.
This will give you a better feel for her life and works. Some readers feel that "Christy" was her best. All of her books should be a part of any Christian's library.
I think all of her books are out of print, but are available thru Amazon.
4797534
This is unquestionably the finest among the troika of Romanoviana novels we reviewed.

It is the life story of Varvara, the facile, observant daughter of a Polish bookbinder who, after her father's death, gets a modest position in Empress Elizabeth's Winter Palace. Laboring away haplessly as a seamstress, her keen eye and memory, to say nothing of her fluency in German, are soon discovered by the unscrupulous Bestuzhev, who then personally trains her in all the wiles of a "tongue" or court spy.

Young Varvara is in the right place at the right time, first serving as a chambermaid for Elizabeth's handpicked heir - the incompetent Peter III, then as the friend and confidante of Peter's bride, Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg - the future Catherine II (a.k.a. "The Great").

Stachniak crafts a wonderful tale of court intrigue that is rich in detail, bringing to life the sights, sounds and smells of eighteenth century Russia. Varvara is a compelling heroine who endures numerous plots and counterplots, and the book charts her life just through Catherine's coup, ending on some satisfyingly unexpected twists. Yet clearly this is just the beginning, as we are told Stachniak is working on a sequel about Catherine's reign.

Given that Catherine ruled for 34 years, we can expect the Romanoviana to continue for some time to come.

As reviewed in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Russian-Life/dp/B00008CQIB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Russian Life</a>
3353517
Catherine is a true story teller, she capture love, royalty, and wisdom. She describe the time period so you feel like you are there. I'm sure book 2 will be well worth reading.
2507435
Russia has a fascinating history and author Robert Coughlan has provided us with an informative and compelling peek into a particularly notable segment of it, essentially the 1700s. The book covers the period from Tsar [Czar] Alexis (briefly) up to the reign of Tsar Alexander I, probably the most beloved of all the Romanovs.

A good bit of the opening text is devoted to Peter the Great (Peter I), and rightly so. He was the man who dragged Russia out of the Dark Ages and he was, just as importantly the father of Elizabeth, the Tsarina who eventually gave birth to Peter III, husband of Catherine the Great (Catherine II). Sound confusing? Coughlan takes the reader through all these changes in Russia's leadership (and much more) in a coherent and logical manner -- and his writing is terrific.

The focus of the work is on Catherine the Great. Her mentor, Elizabeth, was important through her shrewd handling of the many bumps and potholes which eventually allowed Catherine to take the throne against many rivals and usurpers.

Catherine was a great deal like Peter the Great and basically continued his difficult drive to bring Russia into the emerging world of art and technology. She also expanded Russia's empire to the limits of the former Kievian Russia. She wasn't all good, given the perspective of hindsight -- in her day she was widely criticized for her vast number of lovers and she ultimately re-affirmed serfdom as a consequence of peasant uprisings. Still, she was probably the best possible leader for the era, especially given the alternatives. Here's a relevant quotation from the book:

"They settled down together for a long, companionable chat, and each was highly pleased with the other. Diderot, at the end of the session, paid her this gallantry: 'You have the soul of a Brutus and the charms of a Cleopatra.' Repeated in correspondence, this soon became a famous remark all over Europe. It must have pleased Catherine very much, for it could not have been more aptly summed up what she felt about herself." (Page 246)

Coughlan also injects the relevant political and cultural happenings within Europe during the reigns of these various Tsars, particularly those activities of Prussia, Poland, Austria, England, France, and Turkey. The partition of Poland as well as the recovery of the Crimea were two of Catherine's great priorities and, of course, the European nations were much involved in those incursions.

This book is aimed at the lay historian as well as at the casual reader rather than to serve as a major source document for the scholar, albeit the work is quite authoritative. It reads quite fluidly like a good fiction novel. The numerous scandals, royal madness, and secret alliances of the period are all revealed.

The hardcover book is 356 pages in length which includes the bibliography and the index. There is also a nice (simplified) genealogy chart and a section of black-and-white photo illustrations which help to clarify and punctuate Coughlan's fine text.

Highly recommended!
3781074
I thoroughly enjoyed Robert K. Massie's biogrpahies of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexander, and the last imperial family, but I hadn't thought I would be interested in Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman as nothing I'd previously read or heard about her made a favorable impression.  (I might also have been hampered by a third-grade prejudice involving a classmate who wanted to be known as Catherine the Great!)  Like many prejudices, that particular one denied me the pleasure of reading this book earlier.

I don't know that I will ever be an admirer of Catherine, either as a woman or as an empress, but I certainly have a much greater understanding of her, both as a woman and as an empress, and of her contributions to Russia and Europe.  Like his other histories, Massie's biography of this German-born princess is thoroughly researched and engagingly written.  It is as pleasant to read as any novel, yet far more challenging to the mind than most novels . . . and some histories.  Massie is adept at drawing fully detailed portraits of his subjects and those closest to them, showing us both the strenghts and weakness that make a character wholly human instead of a legend from long ago.

Before reading this, I never truly understood how Catherine was able to ascend to the Russian throne.  I do now.  Nor did I truly understand why she was honored with "the great" attached to her name.  I do now, and Massie has convinced me that this epithet is deserved.  This is a great history, stretching from her birth to a mother who was disappointed with a daughter, through years of unconsummated marriage to a difficult man-child under the jealous eye of his imperial aunt, and into her long reign.  It truly is a portrait, not only of a woman who happened to become a great empress, but also of her reign, and of those closest to her.

I doubt if one can truly understand Russian history without learning what Massie has written about Catherine.  I visited an exhibit in Memphis, many years ago, based on her reign, and, while awed by the many beautiful objects, was left with no real understanding of this woman and what she meant to Russia.

I highly recommend this to readers who are interested in biography, history and/or Russia.
4872815
This is a wonderful book, written in direct cooperation with the Grand Duchess herself.  Born into the purple as the daughter of a Tsar, Olga Alexandrovna ended her life as she had always sought to live it - simply, and with family.  Her insights, and the author's, are a wonderful portal to an era of an almost-mythical past.  Though this new edition has many errors, I think it's due to sloppy editing of computer scans.  I hope that next time around, these errors will be fixed.
2629247
I have read Nicholas and Alexandra, Catherine the Great and Towers of Steel, all by Robert Massie.  Peter the Great is equally as good.
4711777
Very interesting and more in-depth than the other documentaries I've seen about the Queen.  This is a wonderful woman:  graceful, dignified, dedicated, and doing a very difficult job.  I think she has done more for Great Britain than any other living person.
2464580
Now I want to visit St Petersburg, especially the Hermitage Museum.  I visited the Hermitage website during the read and found Marina's descriptions very accurate.  The seige was described with compelling authenticity especially for and author who didn't visit the Hermitage until after she had finished writing the book.  A very good historical novel.
1275907
This book follows Catherine from her life as a young girl in Italy, until the very end of her life in France.  She is the daughter of the wealthy Medici family, but when she comes to France she is that Italian girl that no one really pays attention to.  This is something she has to fight against her entire life.

I really enjoyed how Gortner presented Catherine.  She is humanized, with passions, fears, and a soul.  She cares about her children, desperately loves the husband who doesn't love her back, and believes in the predictions of a man named Nostradamus.  I think Gortner shows Catherine's vulnerability and human side through the title of his book - a confession.  About halfway through the book you begin to understand why this book is titled this way.  To mimic a popular song that would describe Catherine perfectly, "these are my confessions".

One of the things that was very new to me was the Huguenots vs. Catholics battle.  I knew that there have always been conflicts between the two, but had never read anything about them.  This part of the story, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, was very exciting and I didn't really know where it would go.  Catherine was constantly in such difficult situations.

I loved getting to know all of the children of Catherine and Henri.  I really think my favorite was their son Henri - he was the most constant to Catherine.  On the other hand, her daughter Margot, was so bad, and constantly a thorn in Catherine's side, very sly that one was.  And my hatred for Diane de Poitiers continued in this book.  I just can't stand how much she got in the way of Catherine and Henri's marriage - she was so controlling.

If you have read the Jean Plaidy trilogy about Catherine, I'm not sure if you will enjoy this book as much as you would if you haven't.  I have read the first in her series, Madame Serpent, and I didn't feel like I had read anything new in the first third of Confessions.  I can't attest to anything beyond the first book.

A great new book from C. W. Gortner.  I haven't had the chance to get to The Last Queen yet, but if this book is any indication of how Gortner handles maligned women, I can't wait to read it.

This book was received from the publisher in exchange for a review and this was also posted on my blog.