The Winter Palace (A novel of the young Catherine the Great)
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Review
'A wonderful tale of the Imperial Russia court in all its glittering glory. Eva Stachniak vividly brings to life the early years of the meek young bride who would become the terrifying, fascinating Catherine the Great.' --Kate Williams, author of 'England's Mistress' and 'Becoming Queen'
'Fantastic, bold, colourful, assured and wonderful writing - and what a story! An outstanding book, magical, beautiful with writing as crisp and fine and breathtaking as a Russian winter.' --Manda Scott, author of the Boudica trilogy
'A whirlwind saga of intrigue, shifting allegiances and illicit liaisons, this engrossing story really captures the imagination.'
--Choice Magazine
'Fantastic, bold, colourful, assured and wonderful writing - and what a story! An outstanding book, magical, beautiful with writing as crisp and fine and breathtaking as a Russian winter.' --Manda Scott, author of the Boudica trilogy
'A whirlwind saga of intrigue, shifting allegiances and illicit liaisons, this engrossing story really captures the imagination.'
--Choice Magazine
Book Description
The epic, sensuous story of Catherine the Great's ruthless rise to power, through the eyes of a young girl groomed as the Empress's spy in 18th Century Russia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I'd hoped,
By
This review is from: The Winter Palace (A novel of the young Catherine the Great) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
I was so looking forward to reading this book. I love historical fiction novels set in Russia and this one sounded wonderful (and has such a beautiful cover too). It would be the perfect book to lose myself in over the Christmas holidays, I thought. Well, unfortunately it wasn't. Or not for me, anyway - the majority of people who have reviewed this book seem to have loved it, which makes me feel even more disappointed that I didn't.The Winter Palace is described as 'a novel of Catherine the Great', which is slightly misleading as Catherine is not the main character and the book only covers her early years. Beginning with her arrival at court as the Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a prospective bride for the Empress Elizabeth's heir, Grand Duke Peter, Catherine's rise to power is described by her friend, Varvara Nikolayevna. Varvara is a young Polish girl, the daughter of a bookbinder, who is employed as a spy, or 'tongue', at the court of Empress Elizabeth. The Winter Palace is really Varvara's story rather than Catherine's. This is a period of Russian history I knew almost nothing about, so I can't comment on how accurate any of the novel is. I found some of it confusing at first, due to my unfamiliarity with the people and events of the era, though there is a useful character list at the back of the book to help with this. It's always good to finish a historical fiction novel feeling that you were at least able to learn something about the period and by the time I reached the end of this book I did feel that I had a better knowledge of the subject. The setting of the book - the Russian Imperial court - was as fascinating as I'd expected it to be. I did enjoy the first few chapters of the book, where Varvara first arrives at the Winter Palace and becomes a spy for the Chancellor, Count Bestuzhev. The atmosphere of claustrophobia and danger was very convincing and showed what it must have been like to live in a world where everything you said or did was being spied on and reported. Reading about all the plotting, scheming, betrayal and changing allegiances made me feel relieved that I didn't have to experience life at the Russian court myself! I think the book might have worked better for me if it had been narrated by Catherine herself instead of her story being secondary to Varvara's, who was not even present at court for long sections of the novel. I didn't feel enough connection to Varvara and her personal storyline to stay interested throughout the chapters where she was away from the Winter Palace and I thought it was a bad decision to remove her character from the Empress's household for such a long period of time as this was what led to me becoming bored with the story. Really, this wasn't a bad novel; it just didn't have the depth I was hoping for, especially considering the length of the book. I don't think I'll be reading the sequel, though it would be interesting to see how Eva Stachniak continues the story.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful, wonderful book!,
By
This review is from: The Winter Palace (A novel of the young Catherine the Great) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Love this book, love it. I read it in two nights and was rather cross with my eyes when they were too tired to continue.As a n avid fan of Russian history I was intrigued to see how the story of Catherine the Great would translate to fiction, I was not disappointed. The author cleverly focuses on a fictional character, a spy employed by Catherine's enemies to report of everything she says and does. The heroine starts to empathise with the unhappily married Grand Duchess, married to a drunk immature bully. Varvara ( the heroine) does not have a happy life either and the two women forge a friendship and Varvara helps Catherine claim the throne. But Empresses are cruel mistresses and can ignore those who help them. I would very much to read more from this author, she manages to weave a complex and compelling story into a historical context. Wonderful.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honey and cucumbers,
By
This review is from: The Winter Palace (A novel of the young Catherine the Great) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
I don't read much historical fiction because I'm a bit prejudiced: too many historical novels are either poorly written or simply bodice rippers. The Winter Palace, being neither, was a pleasant surprise.Eva Stachniak's tale of the young Catherine The Great is elegantly written, with the sense of melancholy common to Russian literature. Descriptions are spare, but evocative, although some of the minor characters, such as Elizabeth's cats and Catherine's little dog are memorable in their own right and Stachniak is very good with dropping in little details - for instance that Catherine likes to eat honey and cucumbers. Reading this I felt as if I were in St Petersburg, listening to the cracking of ice on the Neva. The story is told by Varvara, a Polish orphan who is taken in by the Imperial Place at the request of her father, a bookbinder who repairs the Empress Elizabeth's favourite book. In my opinion, this was the weakest part of the book, as Varvara's father dies almost immediately after asking the Empress to care for his daughter - but since this is simply backstory, and the narrator is telling the tale years later, this is unimportant. In the Imperial Court, Varvara's intelligence is quickly -and luckily- recognised by the Chancellor of Russia and she becomes a "tongue" or spy for the Empress, listening and reporting. The events of the arrival of Catherine (neé Princess Sophie), her marriage to the feckless Grand Duke Peter and the turbulent political relations of the time are related by Varvara, through the exchange of letters and from snippets of overheard conversations. Exploration of the nature of the growing friendship between Varvara and Catherine adds an interesting moral dimension to the tale. In summary, The Winter Palace succeeds on many levels and is a gripping tale that left me wanting more.
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