|
Indlæser... Great Catherine (original 1995; udgave 1994)af Carolly Erickson
Detaljer om værketGreat Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia af Carolly Erickson (1995)
   Books Read in 2014 (425) Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. 947.063 092 CAR   ScarpaOderzo | Apr 25, 2020 |  Wow. That sums up my reaction to the person Catherine was. Knowing she eventually became Empress and ruled for decades, all through the story of her horrible childhood and worse situation as Peter III’s wife, I longed for her to take revenge. Of course being the judicious, self-possessed and level-headed person she was, she did no such thing. Not directly anyway. Her wit, success and lasting legacy are revenge enough. Just where are her haughty great-aunt-in-law or vicious husband now in the collective consciousness? Nowhere and nobodies. Catherine was Great and she is remembered. Not perfect though, and I think Erickson did her best to reveal Catherine’s flaws as well as her strengths, though I think the overall goal was to show a woman who succeeded against a state and a system designed to keep her down and relegate her to failure. (  )1  Bookmarque | Apr 7, 2014 | This book was well done! Clear, concise and easily read it opened a window on a far different time and place.Catherine was a strong woman in a man's world with the wit, wisdom and drive to succeed against all odds. Her early years in the court of Empress Elizabeth were like a tight rope walker's without a safety net. Chosen by Elizabeth to wed Peter III, she was stuck in a loveless marriage which was never consummated and blamed for the lack of an heir. Encouraged to produce an heir by whatever means, she did so with the 'help' of a courtier. Peter recognized the child as his until later years when he wished to dispose of Catherine. After years of study and waiting in constant fear of being put aside or murdered, on Elizabeth's death, Catherine was ready to rule in place of her husband who wasted no time in offending and running rough shod over everyone. In spite of being blamed for his death, she went on to a long and successful rule, continuing the work of Peter the Great in bringing Russia to the forefront of Europe. (  )1 cfk | Jun 24, 2011 | Se la Erickson la smettesse di giustificare i suoi soggetti (e di tacere verità scomode) sarebbe una grandiossima biografa. (  ) dalle8alle5 | Oct 13, 2009 | amira | Mar 13, 2009 | ingen anmeldelser | tilføj en anmeldelse
From the moment the fourteen-year-old Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst agreed to marry the heir to the Russian throne, she was mired in a quicksand of intrigue. Precociously intelligent, self-confident, and attractive but with a stubborn, wayward streak, Sophia withstood a degree of emotional battering that would have broken a weaker spirit until at last she emerged, triumphant over her many enemies, as Empress Catherine II of Russia. Her achievements as empress were prodigious. She brought vast new lands under Russian rule. She raised the prestige of Russia in Europe. She began the process of imposing legal and political order on the chaos she inherited from her predecessors. Yet few historical figures have been so enthusiastically vilified as Catherine the Great. Whispers that she had ordered her husband's murder grew to murmurs that she was an immoral woman and finally to shouts that she was a depraved, lust-crazed nymphomaniac. With deft mastery of historical narrative and an unsurpassed ability to make the past live again, Carolly Erickson uncovers the real woman behind the tarnished image--an indomitable, feisty, often visionary ruler who, in an age of caveats and constraints, blithely went her own way. Great Catherine reveals the complexities of this great ruler's nature, her craving for love, her insecurities, the inevitable sorrows and disappointments of a strong empress who dared not share her power with any man yet longed to be led and guided by a loving consort.Great Catherine is a fresh portrait of an infamous historical figure, one that reveals how Catherine's flawed triumph guaranteed her posthumous fame and enhanced the might and renown of Russia for generations to come. No library descriptions found. |
 Google Books — Indlæser...Populære omslagVurderingGennemsnit: (3.67)
Er det dig?Bliv LibraryThing-forfatter. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1