Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
A biography of Catherine the Great that combines intimate portraiture with imperial history, tracing both her personality and the transformation of Russia under her rule.
Work Information
A portrait of one empress reveals an empire.
Published by Random House, Robert K. Massie’s biography covers Catherine II’s private life, court politics, reforms, and imperial expansion. It is a substantial work that balances political history and character study.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Random House
- Published
- 2011-11-08
- Pages
- 656 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 16.76 x 4.22 x 24.23 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780679456728
- ISBN-10
- 0679456724
- Price
- 8378 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/History/Modern (16th-21st Centuries)/18th Century
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. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into Empress of Russia by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant mind and an insatiable curiosity as a young woman, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers and, when she reached the throne, attempted to use their principles to guide her rule of the vast and backward Russian empire. She knew or corresponded with the preeminent historical figures of her time: Voltaire, Diderot, Frederick the Great, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette, and, surprisingly, the American naval hero, John Paul Jones. Reaching the throne fired by Enlightenment philosophy and determined to become the embodiment of the “benevolent despot” idealized by Montesquieu, she found herself always contending with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. She persevered, and 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 that swept across Europe. Her reputation depended entirely on the perspective of the speaker. She was praised by Voltaire as the equal of the greatest of classical philosophers; she was condemned by her enemies, mostly foreign, as “the Messalina of the north.” Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly described. These included her ambitious, perpetually scheming mother; her weak, bullying husband, Peter (who left her lying untouched beside him for nine years after their marriage); her unhappy son and heir, Paul; her beloved grandchildren; and her “favorites”—the parade of young men from whom she sought companionship and the recapture of youth as well as sex. Here, too, is the giant figure of Gregory Potemkin, her most significant lover and possible husband, with whom she shared a passionate correspondence of love and separation, followed by seventeen years of unparalleled mutual achievement. The story is superbly told. 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.
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 previous 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.
Reviews
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さすがピュリッツァー賞
最初、ハードカバーを買いました。そうしたら、日本語の普通のハードカバーより二回り大きくて、京極夏彦より分厚かった。重たいし。扱いにくいし、字が小さい上に本の横幅も広く、横に沢山目を動かさないといけなくて、読みにくかったです。 諦めて、Kindle版を買いました。情けなくなるほど、ハードカバーより安かった。そして、字の大きさが調整できるので読みやすかった。 読んだ感じ、とても面白い伝記で、エカテリーナ以外のエリザヴェータ女帝やピョートルの生い立ちも書いてあって、それぞれの人物が生き生きしている。ピョートルの育ち方に関しては、本当に気の毒だと思います。 著者は別のロマノフ家の本でピュリッツァー賞を取ったということですが、さすがピュリッツァー賞と思いました。
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キャサリン大王ではなくエカテリーナ女帝
キャサリン大王？そんな王様がいたのかと思って読み始めたら、実はロシアのエカテリーナ女帝の事だった。 彼女はロシア人ではなくプロシアのある地方の公国の王女として生まれ、ロシアの皇太子である後のピーター3世（ロシア風にはピョートル3世）の嫁としてロシアに母とともにやってきた。そして自ら進んで、プロテスタントからギリシア正教へと改宗し、病気で倒れるほどロシア語を勉強する。 大河ドラマよりも面白く読める。小説のように登場人物がいきいきと描かれている。18世紀のヨーロッパの歴史を知らなくても面白く読める。残念なのは、日本の漂流民の大黒屋光太夫がエカテリーナに合っているがその記述は全くないし、日本についても記述がない。
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Well written biography about one of the most intriguing women of the past two hundred years. I became interested in the topic after going to an exhibition of art works from the Hermitage and saw a portrait of her. She looked so pleasant and gentle and I was keen to know how this woman had come from nowhere (well very minor German royalty) to rule Russia as an autocrat for over 30 years. Her life was quite extraordinary as were her achievements. This book portrays her in a way that the reader has a sense of understanding her motives, difficulties, challenges and talents. She was a powerful personality in the guise, quite often, of an unassuming person who laughed a great deal and loved much with great passion. It is an easy to read book that begins with her early childhood experiences of rejection through to her death as the most powerful woman in the world. Highly recommend this particular book!
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Another book on Russian history and what a remarkable woman. Makes Mrs Thatcher look like a poodle. She is a German born princess who marries the Tsar-elect of Russia and waits in the wings whilst the Tsar's aunt Elizabeth (Peter the Great's daughter) rules the Russian empire. The Tsar is a weedy weakling and their marriage is never consummated even after nine years so Catherine (born Sophia) takes numerous lovers one of whom fathers the next Tsar (Paul) and she continues this lifestyle until she meets Gregory Potemkin who then rule Russia together. Eventually led by a powerful cabal they oust the Tsar and Cathereine rules in her own right for nearly 40 years. Her rule is one of expansion and betterment of her people including trying to get rid of serfdom until she finally has a stroke and dies at age 55. Massie does another marvellous job in telling this story as do his previous books and they are highly recommended!!!
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Robert Massie is an excellent writer on both this book, Catherine the Great, & Peter the Great. Massie has a distinctive style in writing that keeps you focused and mesmerized when reading. I recommend both Catherine the Great & Peter the Great as a must read.
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Wie schon bei Peter the Great ist dieses Buch mit vielen historischen Details, Beschreibungen der allgemeinen Politik der Zeit und Hintergründen versehen. Es ist absolut lesenswert. Denn neben diesen Fakten sind auch noch persönliche Details zu lesen. Das Buch ist zudem sehr interessant geschrieben und fesselt mich vom Anfang bis zum Ende. Ich mag es gar nicht mehr weglegen. Ich bin ein Fan des Autors Robert K. Massie geworden und werde auch alle seine anderen Bücher lesen.
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A fascinating story of an enlightened and kind-hearted empress! The narration is smooth, captivating and entertaining. I strongly recommend this book to all book lovers, especially those who like history and politics.