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Title: Great Catherine

Subtitle: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia

Author: Carolly Erickson

Narrator: Davina Porter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-17-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 327 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Prize-winning historian and biographer, Carolly Erickson has created an eminently readable biography that recognizes the humanity of Great CatherineEmpress of Russiawith her majesty and immense capability. Dispelling some of the myths surrounding her voracious sexual appetite, the biographer portrays Catherine as a lonely woman far ahead of her timeachieving greatness in an era when women were executed on a husbands whim.

Members Reviews:

What a woman. Sad to reach the end. Well read.

Where does Great Catherine rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Among the best.

What did you like best about this story?

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and was disappointed when it ended.That this book was taken from Catherines' actual memoirs was particularly intriguing. The book highlighted her frailties, remarkable strengths and basic needs as a woman needing to be loved by men, her children and her subjects. A grand life in Russian proportions.

What about Davina Porters performance did you like?

I thoroughly enjoyed her sympathetic narration.

Fascinating subject, fascinating presentation

Catherine the Great, was an impressive woman. She was brilliant, studied seriously, and made a significant impact on Russia and it's people. She was also somewhat scandalous. This book covers her life and Russian history from her birth (in Prussia) in 1729 to her death in 1796. It's a great read, engaging and fast paced and full of fascinating details about life at court, the living conditions in Moscow and St Petersburg and her relationship with other thinkers and leaders of the time. I enjoyed it and learned from it.

Great she was

Wow. That sums up my reaction to the person Catherine was. Knowing she eventually became Empress and ruled for decades, all through the story of her horrible childhood and worse situation as Peter IIIs wife, I longed for her to take revenge. Of course being the judicious, self-possessed and level-headed person she was, she did no such thing. Not directly anyway. Her wit, success and lasting legacy are revenge enough. Just where are her haughty great-aunt-in-law or vicious husband now in the collective consciousness? Nowhere and nobodies. Catherine was Great and she is remembered.

Not perfect though, and I think Erickson did her best to reveal Catherines flaws as well as her strengths, though I think the overall goal was to show a woman who succeeded against a state and a system designed to keep her down and relegate her to failure. Davina Porter did a great job with all the personal and place names, too. No mean feat.

beautifully done

I enjoy reading historical works and I had heard some of the sorted legends about Catherine the Great so I was excited to read this biography. She was a very strong willed woman and I really enjoyed hearing her story come to life. I found the reader extremely enjoyable and the story kept my interest and even though it was a long book....I got through it in only a few days as I looked for time to listen.

An amazingly woman's life story

I don't usually read biographies, but noticed this and thought I'd listen--especially since the wonderful Davina Porter was reading it.