Empress of the Night: A Novel of Catherine the Great (Catherine #2) by Eva Stachniak
The follow-up to the #1 bestseller The Winter Palace--perfect for the readers of Hilary Mantel and Alison Weir.
Catherine the Great, the Romanov monarch reflects on her astonishing ascension to the throne, her leadership over the world's greatest power, and the lives sacrificed to make her the most feared woman in the world--lives including her own...
Catherine the Great muses on her life, her relentless battle between love and power, the country she brought into the glorious new century, and the bodies left in her wake. By the end of her life, she had accomplished more than virtually any other woman in history. She built and grew the Romanov empire, amassed a vast fortune of art and land, and controlled an unruly and conniving court. Now, in a voice both indelible and intimate, she reflects on the decisions that gained her the world and brought her enemies to their knees. And before her last breath, shadowed by the bloody French Revolution, she sets up the end game for her last political maneuver, ensuring her successor and the greater glory of Russia.
* NovSpoilers
Empress of the Night was the first book I read in 2014 and it was a magnificent way to start a new year!
Empress of the Night is a unique and impressive book; the narration puts us within Catherine’s mind, we are privy to her thoughts as we watch her overrule her husband, as she takes total control of the country and as she handles her numerous lovers.
Catherine came to Russia as a young and naïve German Duchess and as the pages of the book pass we watch her transform into an Empress wise and manipulative, into a woman governed by vanity and lust, into a mother trying to balance her children and her grandchildren.
“November 5 1796: Her right arm is dangling, limp, as if it belongs to someone else. Pain shoots up inside her skull. Something is wrong.”
In her final hours after the stroke that took her life at the age of sixty-seven Catherine had ruled Russia for thirty four years in an era that was later called “ the Golden Age of the Russian Empire ’’.
*Arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
Empress of the Night is a unique and impressive book; the narration puts us within Catherine’s mind, we are privy to her thoughts as we watch her overrule her husband, as she takes total control of the country and as she handles her numerous lovers.
Catherine came to Russia as a young and naïve German Duchess and as the pages of the book pass we watch her transform into an Empress wise and manipulative, into a woman governed by vanity and lust, into a mother trying to balance her children and her grandchildren.
“November 5 1796: Her right arm is dangling, limp, as if it belongs to someone else. Pain shoots up inside her skull. Something is wrong.”
In her final hours after the stroke that took her life at the age of sixty-seven Catherine had ruled Russia for thirty four years in an era that was later called “ the Golden Age of the Russian Empire ’’.
*Arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for
Our TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the right sidebar!