图书标签: 传记 历史 欧洲 女性 成长 俄罗斯历史 小说 英文版
发表于2024-11-25
Catherine the Great pdf epub mobi txt 电子书 下载 2024
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.
Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into Empress of Russia by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant mind and an insatiable curiosity as a young woman, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers and, when she reached the throne, attempted to use their principles to guide her rule of the vast and backward Russian empire. She knew or corresponded with the preeminent historical figures of her time: Voltaire, Diderot, Frederick the Great, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette, and, surprisingly, the American naval hero, John Paul Jones.
Reaching the throne fired by Enlightenment philosophy and determined to become the embodiment of the “benevolent despot” idealized by Montesquieu, she found herself always contending with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. She persevered, and 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 that swept across Europe. Her reputation depended entirely on the perspective of the speaker. She was praised by Voltaire as the equal of the greatest of classical philosophers; she was condemned by her enemies, mostly foreign, as “the Messalina of the north.”
Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly described. These included her ambitious, perpetually scheming mother; her weak, bullying husband, Peter (who left her lying untouched beside him for nine years after their marriage); her unhappy son and heir, Paul; her beloved grandchildren; and her “favorites”—the parade of young men from whom she sought companionship and the recapture of youth as well as sex. Here, too, is the giant figure of Gregory Potemkin, her most significant lover and possible husband, with whom she shared a passionate correspondence of love and separation, followed by seventeen years of unparalleled mutual achievement.
The story is superbly told. All the special qualities that Robert K. Massie brought to Nicholas and Alexandra and Peter the Great are present here: historical accuracy, depth of understanding, felicity of style, mastery of detail, ability to shatter myth, and a rare genius for finding and expressing the human drama in extraordinary lives.
History offers few stories richer in drama than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, this eternally fascinating woman is returned to life.
罗伯特·K·迈锡,出生于美国肯塔基州列克星敦(即莱克星顿),曾读于耶鲁大学的美国史专业,后获得罗兹奖学金,进入牛津大学攻读欧洲史专业,于1987至1991年出任美国作家协会主席一职。迈锡曾出版有以下著作:《尼古拉与亚历山大》、《彼得大帝:他的一生与世界》(普利策传记类大奖获奖作品)、《罗曼诺夫王朝: 最后的篇章》、《无敌战舰:不列颠、德意志与大战的来临》和《钢铁战车:不列颠、德意志与大海战》。
What a woman! 有声书听了一半没听下去,写得太啰嗦了抓不住重点的感觉,而且对宫廷八卦什么的真的没兴趣。
评分captivating!
评分一统江湖
评分It was a long and remarkable journey that no one, not even she, could have imagined when, at fourteen, she set off for Russia across the snow.
评分It was a long and remarkable journey that no one, not even she, could have imagined when, at fourteen, she set off for Russia across the snow.
想看这本书是因为上网无意间翻到某个“有哪些值得推荐的女性人物传记”话题中的介绍,虽然叶卡捷琳娜这个名字我本人之前并未听说过,但一晓得这本书讲得是俄罗斯女大帝的故事,“女性”+“权力”+“战斗民族”的关键词组合,让我立刻决定,下单,开读。 这本书很厚,500多页的...
评分 评分【阅读感受】 很少读完这么厚的一本书,像追剧一样坚持看完了它,作者很擅长描写人物,不同人物的性格和内心活动都刻画很具体,特别以不同人物视角,解说同一时期事情发生的来龙去脉,交代很清楚,不用很费力就可以记住长长的人物名字,还会较清楚知道人物之间的关系。 故事真...
评分【阅读感受】 很少读完这么厚的一本书,像追剧一样坚持看完了它,作者很擅长描写人物,不同人物的性格和内心活动都刻画很具体,特别以不同人物视角,解说同一时期事情发生的来龙去脉,交代很清楚,不用很费力就可以记住长长的人物名字,还会较清楚知道人物之间的关系。 故事真...
Catherine the Great pdf epub mobi txt 电子书 下载 2024