Catherine the Great

Portrait of a Woman

By: Robert K. Massie

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An “absorbing” (Los Angeles Times) biography of one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in Russian history—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs

“[A] compelling portrait not just of a Russian titan, but also of a flesh-and-blood woman.”—Newsweek

ONE OF ESQUIRE’S BEST BIOGRAPHIES OF ALL TIME • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Vogue, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Providence Journal

Robert K. Massie returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became Catherine the Great. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly brought to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, an eternally fascinating woman is returned to life.

©2011 Robert K. Massie (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“What Catherine the Great offers is a great story in the hands of a master storyteller.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“What a woman, what a world, what a biography.” (USA Today)

“[Massie] hasn’t lost his mojo. . . . A consistently nimble and buoyant performance. . . . [Massie] has always been a biographer with the instincts of a novelist. He understands plot—fate—as a function of character, and the narrative perspective he establishes and maintains, a vision tightly aligned with that of his subject, convinces a reader he’s not so much looking at Catherine the Great as he is out of her eyes. . . . Juicy and suspenseful.” (Kathryn Harrison, The New York Times Book Review)

This was an excellent history of an amazing woman

A beautiful biography with an enlightening history of a very educated and modern age woman

Catherine the Great is Great!

Where does Catherine the Great rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Intelligent, well-written, engaging history. I learned so much about Catherine and Russian history. Very enjoyable!

What did you like best about this story?

How Catherine was made

Which character – as performed by Mark Deakins – was your favorite?

None due to Deakins performance, which was fairly straightforward. I can't say he added anything significant to the story with his reading, but he did not take anything away from it, and his voice was consistent and engaging.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Education of an Empress

Wonderful woman in unusual circumstances

Loved the story of her life, since her birth almost 3 hundred years, she was ahead of most of the Russians are today

Lived up to the great reviews!

I absolutely loved this book! I recommend simultaneously watching Catherine the Great starring Helen Mirren and John Adams starring Paul Giamatti on HBO Max.

Excellent 1st half, a little disjointed at the end

Overall, this is a well crafted biography on one of the most interesting characters on European history. Robert Massie sets the stage well, and the story up to the point of Catherine assuming the throne is superb.

The second half, on her reign, is divided into sections on various topics -- her favorites, her wars, her art, etc. -- and this section can be a little hard to follow and occasionally repetitious.

Overall, though, an excellent read.

Pleasant and intelligent listen

This was a fun book, mixing history with narrative. I liked the narrator's voice. Some other reviews complained about some pronunciations, but frankly it would be hard to read so well in English and always pronounce names and words in Russian, Polish, German, and French perfectly, as well! This was not a problem for me (and I am a native French speaker). Good context for Catherine's entry on the Russian scene is given. I wish as much detail were spent on the later years, although the origin story of the early years was definitely very interesting. The latter half of the book is less chronological and more organized by theme, which I liked overall but it took me a little while to realize at first. It's definitely a long one, but I enjoyed it all the way through.

Fascinating woman

A woman who on the whole ruled very wisely. Narration was a bit sporific. Writing scholarly

Amazing

I’ve listened to a lot of biographies lately, most notably Cesar and Alexander the Great. I don’t know if it’s Massey’s writing or Catherine’s story but this is by far the best biography I have ever listened to. Though the focus is certainly on Catherine and does not stray, it also passively teaches you about other aspects of the age such as Frederick the great of Prussia, the enlightenment, and the French revolution. Still, it is no doubt the story of Catherine which marks this books supreme excellence. What a woman. What a story

Amazing Story, More Amazing Subject

A really neat “personal” view of one of the most sensible leaders to impact the history of the world. She savvily made her way from tortured political pawn to foreign Empress of one of the largest nations on Earth and ushered them into a new era of enlightenment.

superbly narrated.

excellent portrayal of a brilliant female ruler. not a detail was left out, even of her flaws or unpopular decisions.