{"title":"Catherine The Great","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"catherine-the-great-selected-letters-book-catherine-the-great-9780198736462","title":"Catherine the Great: Selected Letters","description":"'Your Majesty may find it extraordinary that I should answer with a shipment of fruit your letter of 6 August, in which you inform me that you are sending the plan for a treaty, and that of the 8 September, in which you are so good as to share with me equally important intelligence. Things big and small often come from the same source: my watermelons derive from the same principles as our planned alliance...' (To Frederick the Great)  Catherine the Great's letters present a vivid picture of Russia in a momentous age. They also offer a unique account of her personal development and intimate life, her strategic acumen as a diplomat and military commander, and her political skills at the Russian court and in handling foreign monarchs. Born a German princess, Catherine married into the Russian royal family and came to the throne after a coup. As absolute ruler for 34 years she presided over the expansion of the Russian empire, legislated actively to reform the country in keeping with the principles of the Enlightenment, actively promoted the arts and sciences, and in her correspondence engaged with the most renowned minds in Europe, among them Diderot and Voltaire. Her letters are her literary masterpiece, written to a wide circle of associates and friends, not least her most celebrated lover and ally, Potemkin. Combining her wit, charm, and quick eye for detail, they entertain and tell the griping story of a self-made woman and legendary ruler.   This edition of the letters offers a taste of Catherine's entire writing career, with biographies of Catherine's addressees, a thorough overview of her reign and an analysis of Catherine's literary skill as a letter-writer. Organized chronologically and thematically into six periods, each section also features an introduction to the domestic, personal and foreign policy contexts out of which her letters emerge.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49544846508305,"sku":"GOR012980563","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49562225148177,"sku":"GOR009544610","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49731727556881,"sku":"NGR9780198736462","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50159368831249,"sku":"CIN0198736460VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50345620406545,"sku":"CIN0198736460G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000006344977,"sku":"NIN9780198736462","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53058530279697,"sku":"GOR009539727","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0198736460.jpg?v=1751443446"},{"product_id":"memoirs-of-catherine-the-great-book-catherine-the-great-9780812969870","title":"The Memoirs of Catherine the Great","description":"Empress Catherine II brought Europe to Russia, and Russia to Europe, during her long and eventful reign (1762-96). She fostered the culture of the Enlightenment and greatly expanded the immense empire created by Czar Ivan the Terrible, shifting the balance of power in Europe eastward. Famous for her will to power and for her dozen lovers, Catherine was also a prolific and gifted writer.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Fluent in French, Russian, and German, Catherine published political theory, journalism, comedies, operas, and history, while writing thousands of letters as she corresponded with Voltaire and other public figures. The Memoirs of Catherine the Great provides an unparalleled window into eighteenth-century Russia and the mind of an absolute ruler.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With insight, humor, and candor, Catherine presents her eyewitness account of history, from her whirlwind entry into the Russian court in 1744 at age fourteen as the intended bride of Empress Elizabeth I's nephew, the eccentric drunkard and future Peter III, to her unhappy marriage; from her two children, several miscarriages, and her and Peter's numerous affairs to the political maneuvering that enabled Catherine to seize the throne from him in 1762. Catherine's eye for telling details makes for compelling reading as she describes the dramatic fall and rise of her political fortunes.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e This definitive new translation from the French is scrupulously faithful to her words and is the first for which translators have consulted original manuscripts written in Catherine's own hand. It is an indispensable work for anyone interested in Catherine the Great, Russian history, or the eighteenth century.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49962380067089,"sku":"CIN0812969871A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50281530097937,"sku":"CIN0812969871G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50541642023185,"sku":"GOR006440163","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50631011107089,"sku":"GOR014018223","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50763167596817,"sku":"CIN0812969871VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51158214476049,"sku":"GOR007165686","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51232765149457,"sku":"NGR9780812969870","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0812969871.jpg?v=1750882427"},{"product_id":"three-cheers-for-catherine-the-great-book-cari-best-9780374475512","title":"Three Cheers for Catherine the Great!","description":"\u003cp\u003eA little English, a little Russian, and a lot of heart make a birthday celebration you won't want to miss  When Sara's grandma, Catherine the Great, suddenly announces, This year for my birthday, I want no presents  I have music in my Russian bones, and laughing in my heart. I have the day and the night, and I have all of you, Sara is surprised. How can Grandma have a birthday party with no presents? Her mama explains that a NO PRESENT can be anything from a kiss or a hug to a game of gin rummy -- as long as it comes from deep inside you. But what kind of NO PRESENT would be good enough for Catherine the Great? Mr. Minsky, Monica, and her dad, Mary Caruso and her baby, Mimmo, already have good ideas. But it isn't until Sara is surrounded by Grandma's bundles of Russian newspapers and books that she gets her won idea: She will teach Grandma to read and write English. This lively borscht-and-blintzes birthday celebration shows that sometimes NO PRESENTS can be the best presents of all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50328812323089,"sku":"CIN0374475512VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50351214493969,"sku":"CIN0374475512A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50761918284049,"sku":"CIN0374475512G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52631455105297,"sku":"GOR008271356","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0374475512.jpg?v=1750942096"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-catherine-the-great.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}