Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Description

The fascinating true story behind HBO's Catherine the Great starring Dame Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Robert K. Massie brings an eternally fascinating woman together with her family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers and enemies - vividly and triumphantly to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great.

Robert K. Massie was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and studied American history at Yale and European history at Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was president of the Authors Guild from 1987 to 1991. His books include Nicholas and Alexandra; Peter the Great: His Life and World (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize for biography); The Romanovs: The Final Chapter; Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War; and Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea.

A biographer with the instincts of a novelist * New York Times * A masterful portrait of a majestic monarch * Publishers Weekly * A sensitive and compelling portrait not just of a Russian titan, but also of a flesh-and-blood woman * Newsweek *