From the Jacket Cover:
Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine
Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten's
rich, sweeping debut novel is the story of her rise to power.
St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter
Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an
appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks
falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for
decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and
passionate as Peter himself.
Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and
shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals,
finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence
of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in
Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are
fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell,
her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate
test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to
destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?
From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled
rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the
intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid
life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid
for power would transform the Russian Empire.
About the Author:
ELLEN ALPSTEN was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands.
Upon graduating from L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a
news anchor for Bloomberg TV London. Whilst working gruesome night shifts on
breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap.
Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international
publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN
Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons and a moody fox
red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel.
Photo credit: Andreas Stringberg.
Now that that is out of the way let's get down to the nitty-gritty and what I truly thought about this book.
I'm going to start out by saying that this is a work of historical fiction based on true events of the life of Catherine Alexeyevna, Peter the Great's second wife. This story is an incredibly amazing and sometimes unbelievable rags-to-riches story! What this poor woman had to endure throughout her entire life starting from birth, all the ups and downs she endured, taking each one in stride and never giving up, proving to herself and everyone around her just how strong a woman she was lead her to eventually be the ruler of Russia! Honestly, looking back over her journey, it is amazing how strong-willed and determined Catherine was to make her point, show people who she was, and never give up. I don't know if I were in her position if I could have done it. She really had a hard life, got knocked down more times than you could count, and just got up and kept on going. To give you a taste of what I'm talking about - slavery, rape, murder, brothels, love, broken hearts, miscarriages, loss of children, adultery, incest, and that is just to name a few.
Now, as far as the actual storytelling. Unfortunately, for me, this book was very difficult to get through. I am a very quick reader and it took me well over a month to finish it. Again, the story is fantastic but at times it really just drags on. There are a lot of details on war, and plotting of war, and getting to war, and packing for the war, and setting up for war, or whatever, so those parts were very hard for me to get through. Also, for those weak at heart or stomach, or that may be triggered by certain things, this book does contain some explicit sex and abuse scenes. It definitely goes along with the perils of Catherine's life and tells you what kind of person Peter was but I just wanted to mention that in case you have any of those kinds of triggers.
Overall, I did enjoy the storyline, Catherine's life was very intriguing and interesting and I truly did enjoy reading about that. The book itself had a lot of fluff and/or filler that maybe it could have done without. If you like reading about war and all the details of war then this is a gem for you. I am still amazed at where Catherine came from and where she landed, and all that she had to go through in between. It is one of those stories that kind of sticks with you even though you are finished reading it.
Thank you, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book and being a part of the blog tour!
Beyond the Higher Ground by Thomas A. Brigger
