Catherine the Great

In her latest work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert K. Massie tells the extraordinary life story of Catherine the Great, a woman who rose from obscure beginnings to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. 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—who considered Catherine a close friend—and surprisingly, the American naval hero John Paul Jones.