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A review by cupiscent
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Big and thorough, though the intricate (and sometimes unnecessary) detail of her earlier life dribbled off into broader clumpings and cherry picking of events during her reign (possibly just as well, or this would have been twice as long). It sometimes felt like the author was being a little rosy-glassed about his subject, minimising or even putting the best slant on her sometimes reactionary and autocratic actions. I might have preferred deeper analysis of key events, rather than this almost exhaustive construction of events and quotes. But I learned a lot, and it was largely interesting, and easily readable.