Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie, 2001

Packed with 574 pages of research, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman is an edifying read that provided me with an education of 18th Century Russia and European politics and diplomacy that escaped me during my History and Social Sciences classes in junior high and high school.

Noted by The New York Times as one of the 100 nonfiction notable books of 2011, Catherine the Great is the epic story of one of Russia's greatest empresses.

At times, the political policy accounts made for slow reading, but the accounts of Catherine's rise to power, expansion of her empire and impact of the French revolution read like a thriller.

The Early Years
Born Sophie in Germany in 1729, she was renamed Catherine when she converted to Orthodox to marry the future Tsar of Russia, a distant cousin.

The marriage, and Catherine's life in Russia, was heavily controlled by Empress Elizabeth, Peter the Great's daughter and Russia's then ruler.  At Elizabeth's orders, Catherine's father was not invited to her wedding and her mother was sent away after the wedding.

Catherine's marriage to Peter III was an unhappy marriage.  The future Tsar was known as an imbecile, with unsophisticated and sophomoric interests and manners.

At sixteen, Catherine knew that she was a political pawn and brought to Russia to produce an heir to ensure the stability of Elizabeth's continued reign.

Accepting her destiny, Catherine learned the Russian language and customs, and became a dutiful wife under the constant, watchful eye of Elizabeth.

Portrait of Catherine the Great.

The Payoff
Catherine's patience and diligence to prove herself to the Russian court and people paid off in 1762.

After Elizabeth's death, a coup instigated by Catherine's "favorourites" and her husband's murder under the watch of trusted soldiers, Catherine was coronated the Empress of Russia in 1762.

During her reign, Catherine expanded her empire by forging strategic alliances with foreign powers, corresponded with European philosophers who thought of Russia as backwards, and amassed an impressive collection of European artwork, including works by Rembrandt.

The Biographer
Robert Massie is a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer who specializes in Russian Tsar biographies and history.

With the details and insight he provides, he conveys the nuances and complexity of Russian and world affairs during Catherine's reign.  Because of this, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman is a highly educational and fascinating read.