![]() Her force of will, her vivacity and her intelligence - as well as her flaws - are almost unbelievable. Catherine the Great must be one of the most remarkable people ever to live. The book is doubly startling for the drama of its material. That this is done via mostly quoting from source material is impressive - directly quoting primary sources rarely helps build such a coherent narrative. The cast and characters are brought vividly to life via anecdote and letter and diary, so that you feel you come to know the whole Russian Court over the period of these two remarkable Empresses' lives. The work is impressively easy to read - almost like a novel, and so makes a great introduction to the period and the setting. I was expecting a quick read but this is honestly one of the best books I've read all year: it is extremely disappointing that Robert Coughlan's output has been so limited, as he was obviously a gifted popular history writer. The cast and characters are brought vividly to life via anecdote and Picked this up in a charity shop, knowing almost nothing about Russian history. Picked this up in a charity shop, knowing almost nothing about Russian history. ![]()
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