To view prices and purchase online, please login or create an account now.



Catherine The Great: Love, Sex, and Power

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Catherine The Great: Love, Sex, and Power
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Virginia Rounding
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:608
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenreBiographies: Royalty
World history - c 1750 to c 1900
ISBN/Barcode 9780099462347
ClassificationsDewey:947.063092
Audience
General
Illustrations 16

Publishing Details

Publisher Cornerstone
Imprint Arrow Books Ltd
Publication Date 1 March 2007
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Power politics and sexual politics combine in the life of an extraordinary woman who ruled Russia from 1762 until her death in 1796. 'THE MOST ACCESSIBLE AND ENJOYABLE PORTRAIT YET.' DAILY MAIL ______________________________________________________ Power, sex, and politics- the fascinating rule of one of Russia's most significant monarchs Catherine the Great ruled Russia from 1762 until 1796. Famous for the legends circulated by political rivals about her sexual rapacity, some were true - though not the infamous rumour of her death by stallion. However, a conservative Russian court was shocked by her use of her sexuality as a political tool, as well as the number and age of her lovers. Unhappily married to the Grand Duke Peter, a man who preferred to play with his toy soldiers in the bedroom, they failed to produce an heir, and Catherine turned her attentions to a certain Sergey Saltykov who fathered the future Tsar Paul I. Six months into the reign of Peter III, Catherine, supported by the Imperial Guard, staged a successful coup against her husband and became Empress. It was her ambition to transform a vast but semi-barbaric country with the cultural and political reforms of Enlightenment Europe. In this fascinating biography, Virginia Rounding reveals an extraordinary woman in all her complexity. ______________________________________________________ 'A great thumping triumph of a book.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Rounding shows that the reality is far more interesting than any of the fictions.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'An intimate study of Catherine's life' GUARDIAN 'Enjoyable and perceptive study . . . Rounding has read widely, and writes history with a no-nonsense style and a respectful relish for the details that make the past come alive.' Simon Sebag Montefiore, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Rounding writes with enviable lucidity, and gives us the most accessible and enjoyable portrait yet.' DAILY MAIL 'Written with vigour and intelligence enough to do justice to its prodigious subject.' SUNDAY TIMES

Author Biography

Virginia Rounding is the author of Les Grandes Horizontales (2003), is fluent in French and Russian (vital for the source material of her new book). She lives in London (EC1).

Reviews

A great thumping triumph of a book. * Daily Telegraph * Enjoyable and perceptive study ... Rounding has read widely, and writes punctilious, professional history with a no-nonsense style and a respectful relish for the details that make the past come alive. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Sunday Telegraph * Rounding writes with enviable lucidity, and gives us the most accessible and enjoyable portrait yet. * Daily Mail * Written with vigour and intelligence enough to do justice to its prodigious subject. * Sunday Times * Rounding shows that ... the reality is far more interesting than any of the fictions. * Scotland on Sunday *