A review by roseleaf24
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

4.0

For such a lengthy work of non-fiction, I'm surprised I found this as readable as I did. Catherine is a fascinating woman. As a minor German princess, she comes to Russia to marry the heir to the throne and quickly realizes that he's not really fit to rule and that her marriage will be miserable. But she has her eyes on the throne, even as a fourteen-year-old girl, and she never loses sight of that goal. Because of her determination, her ability to win the hearts of the right people at the right time, and her honest desire to be a benevolent autocrat, she becomes Catherine the Great. I must admit I found the last section more scattered and less interesting than the rest of it, but this is well worth reading.