Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-395) and index

Catherine's Coup d'état -- The education of a Russian Empress (1729-1762) -- Coronation, consolidation, challenges -- Crisis renewed : the Volga voyage and the legislative commission -- Foreign policy and war, Poland and Turkey -- Pox, pestilence, and crisis in public health -- Plots, pretenders, Pugachevshchina -- "Legislomania" : reactions to crisis -- Nymphomania? Favorites and favoritism -- Succession concerns and Southern vistas -- Wars, war scares, and European revolution -- Spring surprises, autumn anxieties

Examines all aspects of Catherine the Great's life and career, focusing on her role as mother, lover, and ruler during her reign as Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796

The first authoritative, popular biography of one of the most colorful characters in modern history, Catherin the Great provides a vivid portrait of Catherin as a mother, a lover, and, above all, an extremely savvy ruler. Concentrating on her long reign (1762-96), John T. Alexander examines all aspects of Catherine's life and career: the brilliant political strategies by which she earned the acceptance of a nationalistic elite; her expansive foreign policy; the domestic reforms she used to revamp the Russian military, political structure, and economy; and, of course, her infamous love life. The result of twenty years' research by one of America's leading narrative historians of modern Russia, this truly impressive work offers a much-needed, balanced reappraisal of one of history's most scandal-ridden figures

xii, 418 pages, [24] pages of plates : 24 cm