This book was provided by Media Guests in exchange for my honest review
I must admit I was so excited to read this book. The first chapter captivated me. In fact, the whole first half of the book captivated me. Catherine the Great was someone I remember reading about in history. I could not really remember that much about her. I was intrigued to learn more about her in this engaging format (more engaging than as straight up history book).
However, I felt the book climaxed shortly after she was crowned. After that, I felt like it just drug through her reign. Yes, lots of things happened, many wars, etc but it felt purposeless after the struggle of getting her to the throne. The last chapter or so right before she died were also very interesting. However, there was a lot of book between those two parts.
I'm hoping the other 2 books in this Volga Flows Forever Triology flow a little better (pardon the pun).
About the Book: Catherine: Inside the Heart and Mind of a Great Monarch…
“You look astonishingly pretty,” admits Johanna when Sophia steps out of her bedroom dressed in Ulrika’s magnificent gown. Sophia is stunned, halting in mid-step. This is rare praise from her cold mother, so she must, indeed, look very good. At Frederick’s side during the elaborate court dinner, Sophia shines and sparkles with youth and wit. The monarch is very pleased with his choice. Indeed, he is so enamored with the girl that he opens his purse to outfit mother and daughter, both woefully deficient in material matters appropriate for court life.
So begins the transformation of Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst into Catherine the Great of Russia. The personal and professional triumphs and tribulations of this remarkable woman are retold by Sigrid Weidenweber, whose research into the life of Catherine reveals a new perspective on Catherine, from the inside out. Sigrid portrays with heartfeld understanding what it was like to have been such a major European political and military, social and cultural figure during the eighteenth century.
Purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/
About Sigrid Weidenweber: Born in Germany in 1941, Sigrid Weidenwber remembers the horrific aftermath of fascism. At the end of the war, she found herself living under communism. After the Berlin Wall was built, she managed to escape the repressive environment with the help of friends and a French passport. To this day she does not speak French.
She holds degrees in medical technology, psychology and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Concordia University of Portland, Oregon for her trilogy “The Volga Flows Forever.” In her trilogy she brings to life Catherine the Great in her multiple roles as monarch, woman, lover, mother, grandmother and head of the general staff of the army, in Volume one. The following two historical volumes deal with the Volga Germans brought to Russia by Catherine’s edict.
Three years ago she moved to Santa Rosa Valley, California from Portland Oregon. She has passionately embraced California together with her family that also resides here.
Visit the Author’s Website
No comments:
Post a Comment