Potemkin biography
Prince of Princes : The Life of Potemkin
I knew of Catherine the Great from watching a history channel documentary when I was younger. But I only heard snatches of the mysterious Grigory Potemkin. So when I found out that Simon Sebag Montefiore, writer of the legendary autobiography on Stalin, court of the red tsar had written a book on Catherine and Grigory, I snapped it up, not knowing what I was going to expect. As it turns out, I got more than I bargained for.
What a story. What a life! Awe inspiring and sweeping, the life of Catherine the Great's one true love, the only man on earth who was her equal, and the de - facto co - Tsar of all Russia is an amazing story. Politics, war, creation and love. It has the scope of a literary Game of Thrones but with far more compassion and touching humanity than House of Cards. Now to the review. What makes a man great?
Like any good autobiography, we begin the story at the end. A man is racing across what would be present day Romania. He's dying and his medical staff are failing to save him. Deciding that all is lost, he asks that as he's traveled so far for much of his life, he'd prefer to pass away lying still on a hill. His wish granted, this man, one of the most powerful in Europe, is carried to a solitary foggy hill by the side of the country road. He's soon at peace and just before he gives up the ghost, he begs forgiveness to the only woman he ever truly loved.
Letters are sent, couriers dispatched and soon, Catherine the Great, the German who rose to become the definitive Russian empress, opens the letter with the news she didn't want to hear. Suffering a
Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner
I knew of Catherine the Great from watching a history channel documentary when I was younger. But I only heard snatches of the mysterious Grigory Potemkin. So when I found out that Simon Sebag Montefiore, writer of the legendary autobiography on Stalin, court of the red tsar had written a book on Catherine and Grigory, I snapped it up, not knowing what I was going to expect. As it turns out, I got more than I bargained for.
What a story. What a life! Awe inspiring and sweeping, the life of Catherine the Great's one true love, the only man on earth who was her equal, and the de - facto co - Tsar of all Russia is an amazing story. Politics, war, creation and love. It has the scope of a literary Game of Thrones but with far more compassion and touching humanity than House of Cards. Now to the review. What makes a man great?
Like any good autobiography, we begin the story at the end. A man is racing across what would be present day Romania. He's dying and his medical staff are failing to save him. Deciding that all is lost, he asks that as he's traveled so far for much of his life, he'd prefer to pass away lying still on a hill. His wish granted, this man, one of the most powerful in Europe, is carried to a solitary foggy hill by the side of the country road. He's soon at peace and just before he gives up the ghost, he begs forgiveness to the only woman he ever truly loved.
Letters are sent, couriers dispatched and soon, Catherine the Great, the German who rose to become the definitive Russian empress, opens the letter with the news she didn't want to hear
Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner
As a young guardsman, Grigory Potemkin caught the eye of Catherine the Great with a theatrical act of gallantry during the coup that placed her on the throne. Over the next thirty years he would become her lover, co-ruler, and husband in a secret marriage that left room for both to satisfy their sexual appetites. Potemkin proved to be one of the most brilliant statesmen of the eighteenth century, helping Catherine expand the Russian empire and deftly manipulating allies and adversaries from Constantinople to London.
This acclaimed biography vividly re-creates Potemkin's outsized character and accomplishments and restores him to his rightful place as a colossus of the eighteenth century. It chronicles the tempestuous relationship between Potemkin and Catherine, a remarkable love affair between two strong personalities that helped shape the course of history. As he brings these characters to life, Montefiore also tells the story of the creation of the Russian empire. This is biography as it is meant to be: both intimate and panoramic, and bursting with life.
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