Binding: Paperback
Description: " Makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme." Daisy Goodwin New York Times bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter 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 Tsarina 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.
Title: Tsarina A Novel
Author(s): Alpsten Ellen
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Barcode: 9781250214447
Pages: 480 Pages
Language: English
Publication Date: 3/14/2023
Category: Modern & Contemporary Fiction