Just the Facts: Book Discussion Recap from March 28th

Seventeen people, including a few new faces, ventured out into a late March evening last night to attend the book discussion. Many thanks to all who attended.

The book under discussion last night was Catherine the Great: portrait of a woman by Robert K. Massie. It is a biography of the 18th century Russian empress who ruled an empire stretching from Europe to the Far East. Catherine began life as the daughter of a very minor German prince. At age fourteen, she was selected by Frederick the Great of Prussia and Empress Elizabeth II of Russia to come to St. Petersburg and become the wife of Peter, Elizabeth’s German nephew and heir. The marriage was a nightmare and, years later, after Elizabeth’s death and Peter’s ascension to the throne, Catherine orchestrated a coup d’état, imprisoned Peter, and established herself as empress. She was to rule for 34 years, governing Russia, expanding her territories, taking lovers, waging war, conducting foreign policy, buying art, corresponding with Voltaire and Diderot and generally modernizing a huge and backward empire. The book is wonderful, presenting decades of world history without losing the humanity of the participants. Our discussion was lively and interesting, covering Russian history, the Romanovs, the English monarchy, Scottish independence, Napoleon, ethnic minorities and much more. It was an enjoyable evening.

Our next book, Mrs. Adams in Winter: a journey in the last days of Napoleon by Michael O’Brien, will be discussed on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 7:00 pm. The book is available at the Circulation Desk.