Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K Massie is the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who travelled to Russia at the tender age of fourteen and rose to become one of
the most powerful, and captivating women in history.

I had previously read Massie's [b:Nicholas and Alexandra|133486|Nicholas and Alexandra|Robert K. Massie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333577599l/133486._SY75_.jpg|2453716] which was wonderful and I was really interested in reading about Catherine the Great.

Massie did extensive research on this book. It is Catherine’s detailed and excellent memoirs and letters from which Massie quotes liberally which make it possible for him to write such a wonderful detailed portrait of this Woman and her time in history. Mr. Massie writes elegantly and knows how to get the readers attention and I found myself totally invested in this story and its characters.

I loved reading this book and really learned so much. I spent a lot of time googing places and palaces in Russia that I was totally side-tracked for much of the novel. I did finish the book feeling some compassion for Catherine and her life at court, but I was stunned at the opulence and behaviour of those within the Russian court.

Lovers of history will not be disappointed with this extensively researched and easy to read story that flows from beginning to end. ( )

Really good book - I wish the book on the Romanov's was audio and at the local library...
( )

Biography of Catherine the Great

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

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. ( )

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. ( )

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 ! ( )

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. ( )

3.5* ( )

Probably more of a 3.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this book about Catherine the Great. I'm a science graduate and know next to nothing about history and empires and this was a good introduction. I had heard of Catherine the Great, but only as an art collector and know very little about this period of history in Europe. I now know a lot more and love the fact that the Romanov empire had no Romanov blood! The practicality associated with producing heirs was also interesting. I'm not sure if I liked the way that the book jumped backwards and forwards through history based on whichever war or person was being talked about and wonder if a more linear timeline would have made the story more complete. I felt that some areas were skipped over or missed altogether due to the jumping forward and back in time, for example, what happened to the baby Catherine had with Orlov?

Overall an entertaining and informative read. ( )

This is an excellent biography. I knew very little about Catherine the Great before picking this up and now I'm completely fascinated! It is a very accessible read. Though it is long, it never faltered and maintained my interest throughout. ( )

Interesting but long. Part of the reason for the length is because Massie did a thorough job of explaining the context of various people and events that effected and were effected by Catherine. On the one hand, this is valuable. On the other hand, it adds a lot of bulk to the book. Massie is also quite detailed in his exploration of Catherine's life.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a fascinating look at a fascinating women[1], but I personally would have been better served by an abridged version (oh, how I hate admitting such a thing =).

[1] What makes Catherine fascinating to me is not that she was a powerful empress, it's that she was an empress at a time of huge ideological transition. She was truly a student of the Enlightenment, yet she had to face the reality that much of her world was directly at odds with Enlightenment ideals and there was only so much she could or even wanted to do to change this. It's a valuable case study for those of us -- all of us, at times -- who condemn too harshly the actions and beliefs of those who live in different ideological contexts. ( )

To earn a title like “The Great” requires serious accomplishment. Catherine II of Russia most definitely met that criteria. Robert K. Massie tells the story of this minor German princess who ruled wisely and expanded the Russian Empire alone. She relied on the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers and her impressive judgment.

Catherine lived a long, dramatic, action-packed life. She was surrounded by a wide array of characters of both small and magnificent intelligence. Before her dramatic accession to the throne, she was by turns spoiled, neglected, and mistreated, but she ruled steadfastly after that. She left Russia in better shape than she found it.

Robert K. Massie tells of Catherine’s life before becoming empress in a chronological narrative. After that, a topical format covers her contributions to Russian art and politics. Wars with Turkey and entanglements with the rest of Europe are detailed. He also examines her lovers and family. It is an astounding story by any standard. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Russian history or in accounts of strong women. ( )

I knew practically nothing about imperialist Russia before this. This book was easy to read and dropped right into the court. ( )

I learned much about Russian history from this well written, usually adequately-paced book. ( )

Actually didn't finish because the last 100 pages dragged a bit. The first half of the book was fantastic though. If someone is deeply interested in this part of Russian History I think it would be an excellent read. ( )

It's really not possible to cover the life of Catherine the Great without including a hefty portion of information about 18th century global politics, philosophy, arts, and, yep, gossip. The Empress had her inquisitive little fingers in a lot of pies, and to understand either Russia or Catherine, it is necessary to understand the context and background. It was a huge undertaking, and I think Massie did a reasonably good job. What pushed this to four stars for me was that the author managed to make it entertaining as well as informative and without stopping to entertaining the more ribald speculation about Catherine's sex life.

Sorry to disappoint (no, I'm not), but there are no stories about sex with horses, and he doesn't bother to address rumors of some of x-rated furniture. And while Catherine enjoyed a healthy sex life and was definitely a cougar, Massie points out that she certainly didn't tally up the number of bed companions that most of the male royalty of her day did. There may have been a little fawning in this portrait of the 18th century's most powerful woman, but she is presented as as not just a charming women who enjoyed men, but as an brilliant, inquisitive, decisive ruler who understood power, both personal and political, and how to use it. ( )

The book is always better than the TV show! :) A MUST read with tons of background history and incredible facts.

"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."

Good Reads.com ( )

Catherine the Great is indisputably one of the greatest women Europe has ever produced. She ruled Russia as an enlightened monarch and spread the philosophy of its prior pro-European monarch Peter the Great. She created an intellectual culture in Russia that blossomed with talent like Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, and Tchaikovsky.

Ironically, she was not born a Russian but a German. Her marriage to a future king was a failure, but not due to her lack of trying. She spent years subjugated to another Russian monarch – Queen Elizabeth. Instead of being frustrated, Catherine spent her time reading books during the European Enlightenment from figures like Voltaire and Diderot. When time and chance converged and offered her a chance to rule, she seized the opportunity.

Despite these beneficial qualities, Catherine’s character presents itself not as an ideal figure but as a pragmatist. Although she was aware of their suffering (more than many monarchs could say), she did not free Russia’s serfs. She saw that serfs needed more than the Russian state could offer them at the time, in terms of education and economic opportunity. She also weathered the craziness of the French Revolution and held onto power like any good autocrat does. She joined in partitioning Poland in two and thus made a nation disappear. Nonetheless, she provided a culture for the arts and a movement towards integration with European intellectual and political life.

This cultural renewal is Catherine’s legacy. Massie, as a good biographer, gets out of the way and lets Catherine’s personality shine – even in her turbulent personal relationships. He provides much detail from personal letters of those around Catherine. He also does a good job of integrating her personal narrative in with world events. Overall, this is a nice portrait of a great lady. ( )

I knew near to nothing about Empress Catherine and decided to pick this up to learn something. Overall a good book, very informative especially if you are as naive as I am on the subject. I only downgrade it a bit because the author has a tendency to repeat large parts of the story from section to section, almost assuming that you hadn't read the previous sections. Maybe this is by design, as he possibly assumes that a history reader would only read the sections of interest at the time? Don't know. Catherine's period of enlightenment interesting enough was happening as Thomas Jefferson was writing the American Constitution. Interesting enough both Jefferson and Catherine had to deal with Slavery (Catherine's was serfdom) and in the end chose to do nothing about it, though it seemed both hated it. ( )

I enjoy reading Robert Massie's biographies. His style makes it very easy to absorb all the information packed into a book like this.
Catherine the Great was an amazing, strong woman. It was a pleasure to read more about her. What drama she lived through-and sometimes was responsible for. I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially those not used to reading "dry" history. ( )

I don't usually read non-fiction and a book of this length is particularly daunting, but this was my book club selection for April. I have to admit I found it rather fascinating and read more thoroughly (and skimmed less) than I expected. I certainly learned a lot about Catherine the Great and a period in Russian history that I knew little about. ( )

Worth reading, but while Caterine's life was certainly dramatic, the suthor sometimes writes as if a romance novel. ( )

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia in the mid- to late-18th century. This looks back at her entire life and reign.

I listened to the audio and there were parts that were ok and parts that I liked. I suppose (no surprise to me) I enjoyed the parts about her personal life more than about her reign. In fact, I probably enjoyed the first half better for that reason – the second half was after she became empress. I think I’ve read one other book about her, but had forgotten about her very childlike husband, Peter III (the grandson of Peter the Great). I thought it was a decent biography, though another friend who likes history was bored by it. In my opinion, though, it was much better than the author’s book on Peter the Great! ( )

I found this book to be fascinating. It's lengthy, but it's well written and I found it easy to follow. Catherine was born in relative obscurity, but she was both intelligent and driven to succeed in the unexpectedly high position she found herself. I knew that she had seized power, but I didn't know the entire story, or how she continued to maintained her position for the rest of her life. I did lose a bit of interest through the constant twist of alliances and wars with Austria, Prussia, Turkey, etc, but the author did a good job of bringing things back to a smaller scale and focusing on important individuals rather than a recitation of battles and campaigns. I spent some time in the Hermitage many years ago, and I was tickled to think about how much enjoyment I received from the building and art collection that this amazing woman started so long ago. If you have any interest in Russian history, royal history, or a history of women in power, this is a good choice of biographies. ( )