Scan barcode
A review by karenvol6
The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great defied a deadly virus by Lucy Ward
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Super well researched book on a very interesting topic! All of the illustrations included were also a very nice touch.
For cons: it was a tad too dense in some parts for my taste, and something I thought was strange was the fact that several times in the book, the author will criticize a historian for having been more obsessed with Catherine the Great’s sex life than her actual impact on Russia, but she repeatedlyyyy quotes bizarro comments and rumors that were made about the Empress’ sexuality. I’d forgive a mention of the types of rumors especially if it was connected to the culture of Russia at the time of her reign but the multiple quotes of the vilest rumors without a connection to inoculation seems like a bit much. She was so focused on condemning these stories but ultimately ends up perpetuating them in this book. So I guess in short: the book’s really informative; there’s just some details with questionable relevancy to the topic.
For cons: it was a tad too dense in some parts for my taste, and something I thought was strange was the fact that several times in the book, the author will criticize a historian for having been more obsessed with Catherine the Great’s sex life than her actual impact on Russia, but she repeatedlyyyy quotes bizarro comments and rumors that were made about the Empress’ sexuality. I’d forgive a mention of the types of rumors especially if it was connected to the culture of Russia at the time of her reign but the multiple quotes of the vilest rumors without a connection to inoculation seems like a bit much. She was so focused on condemning these stories but ultimately ends up perpetuating them in this book. So I guess in short: the book’s really informative; there’s just some details with questionable relevancy to the topic.