Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to the immature future Czar, a young German Princess proves a skillful political infighter and rises to become Catherine the Great.

In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

By focusing on their dynamic, The Great avoids the historical trap of writing towards the inevitability of Catherine’s future success. It does not treat Peter as doomed and Catherine as hyper ...

marking the start of Catherine’s misfortune. While there was great celebration over the birth of Catherine's second child, Prince Henry, in 1511, this male heir died soon after. In all she bore ...

Taken from Catherine at birth and raised by his great aunt, Empress Elizabeth, and tutor, Minister Panin, Paul never formed a loving relationship with Catherine. The brutal, conniving and ambitious ...