Reviews for Russia in the age of Catherine the Great

The average rating for Russia in the age of Catherine the Great based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-19 00:00:00 Edward Brooks This biography of Catherine the Great of Russia published in 1981 by Isabel de Madariaga, Fellow of the Royal Academy and the British Historical Society, may still be the best biography available on Russian's most extraordinary empresses. Madariaga's book presents the Catherine that is admired from so many sides. She is revered in Russia for the skill with which she governed her empire and greatly added to its territory. Her intellect impressed any the great philosopher's of the day who met her including Voltaire and Rousseau. The Hermitage Museum is a remarkable testimonial to her artistic taste. Historians in all the countries that she fought wars with or had alliances with agree that she was highly skilled but fair in her negotiations. In all these areas, Madariaga concludes that the facts justify the praise that has been bestowed on Catherine. Madariaga absolves Catherine the great of any involvement in the assassination of her husband which made her the ruler of the Russian empire. Once a widow, Catherine was placed in a very difficult position. She needed male confidants and counsellors but she could never marry any of them as it might put her son's ascension to the throne in jeopardy. Thus she could have many lovers but all affairs had to end promptly lest factions might unite against her to prevent her from giving too much power to her favorite. All the archival material relevant to Catherine's was available for over 100 years before Madariaga started this book. Nothing new will emerge. Future historians can reinterpret but not add our knowledge. Madaraiga's book is as good as anything currently available and may remain so for some time. I have noticed other GoodReads reviewers have complained that Madaraiga's assumption that the reader could understand French and was familiar with the trends in 18th century French Political Philosophy makes this book difficult in places. Being a native French speaker I had no problems of this nature but suspect that for some readers this will indeed be a problem.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-02-16 00:00:00 Jaime L Snyder Why cant all histories be this good. Jam packed with information and written in a readable academic style (no gossip) For anyone interested in Russian history or one of the greatest monarchs of the Russian state. I was saddened to learn there weren't other major works by this author.