Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great

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Catherine the Great by John T Alexander

Empress of the vast Russian Empire by the age of 33, Catherine's private and public life generated tremendous contemporary controversy, and she has subsequently been portrayed variously as a political genius, a despotic foreign adventuress, a tyrant, and a nymphomaniac. Drawing on little-known sources, including Catherine's billets doux , John Alexander has produced a much-needed balanced appraisal and popular biography of one of the most powerful, infamous, and colourful figures in modern history.
`Alexander demonstrates that he posesses two important skills which enable him to address a popular readership: the ability to tell a good story well and an understanding of the effective use of descriptive contemporary accounts and interesting detail to enliven the textAn academic readership will also find this study of value' Slavonic Review
'a balanced, comprehensive portrait of the woman whom custom calls "the Great", whom gossip painted as scarlet, but whom Diderot described probably accurately as "the soul of Brutus in the body of "Cleaopatra"' Sunday Times
`Alexander's biography is the best there is and likely to remain so' Times Literary Supplement
`a serious and highly readable work' Times Higher Education Supplement
'this is a serious and highly readable work, which draws on a wealth of published sources, notably Catherine's own voluminous writings' Lindsey Hughes, University of London, THES
'A very well researched book that's also very readable' Scottish Home and Country
'one of the most comprehensive studies of this woman written in modern times ... Well worth buying.' Irish Independent
'an excellent analysis of the historical context in which she cut such a flamboyant figure' Saturday Magazine
'Catherine the Great: Life and Legend 's principal service to the scholar is to trace the chronology of Catherine's reign in unparalleled detail ... a perceptive biography.' Scottish Slavonic Review, No. 17
Professor of History at the University of Kansas
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780195061628
ISBN 10 0195061624
Title Catherine the Great
Author John T Alexander
Series Oxford Lives
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Year published 1990-04-05
Number of pages 432
Prizes Winner of Winner of the Byron Caldwell Smith Award (USA).
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable