Katharina die GroßeReseñas

Book covers years 1728 thru 1759. I think it was pretty dry and book really doesn't need prologue of 100 pages.

Easily readable translation. A fascinating look into the seemingly petty, yet vicious maneuvring that Catherine dealt with at the court of her husband's aunt, the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Of course she stops the memoir before it gets really interesting, that is before her coup against her own husband Peter III.

An interesting (if clearly skewed) historical read. I was amused by her utter lack of detail in some aspects of life (such as illness, her children) and the minutia which she felt the need to relate in other areas (lineage, clothing). Odd that her last memoir (this is the third of three) deals entirely with her life before becoming empress.½

This book includes an actual memoir written by Catherine the Great herself which spans the period 1728 - 1759. While this text provides a detailed preface which sets the stage and context for the memoir to follow, the memoir itself only tells a fraction of the story. Most obviously, it feels too short because it ends before Catherine's 1762 coup. I recommend reading a biography of Catherine the Great immediately following or at the same time as reading this memoir, to get the full picture. Catherine was, after all, writing in part to justify her coup and subsequent reign, so the memoir hides more than it reveals.