Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner [Paperback]

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2005

As a young guardsman, Grigory Potemkin caught the eye of Catherine the Great with a theatrical act of gallantry during the coup that placed her on the throne. Over the next thirty years he would become her lover, co-ruler, and husband in a secret marriage that left room for both to satisfy their sexual appetites. Potemkin proved to be one of the most brilliant statesmen of the eighteenth century, helping Catherine expand the Russian empire and deftly manipulating allies and adversaries from Constantinople to London.

This acclaimed biography vividly re-creates Potemkin’s outsized character and accomplishments and restores him to his rightful place as a colossus of the eighteenth century. It chronicles the tempestuous relationship between Potemkin and Catherine, a remarkable love affair between two strong personalities that helped shape the course of history. As he brings these characters to life, Montefiore also tells the story of the creation of the Russian empire. This is biography as it is meant to be: both intimate and panoramic, and bursting with life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Biography in the grand tradition. . . . The story is riveting, the main character a hero, and the author a gifted storyteller with an impressive command of his subject.” --The Washington Post Book World

“Excellent with dazzling mastery of detail and literary flair . . . One of the great love stories of history in a league with Napoleon and Josephine and Antony and Cleopatra.” –The Economist

“Montefiore conveys [Russian] history with vivid detail and narrative momentum. . . . He captures the genius of two extraordinary Enlightenment figures–and of the age as well.” –The Wall Street Journal

“Meticulously researched . . . absorbing . . . Monumental, densely detailed and . . . dizzily panoramic.” –The New York Times Book Review

“Invigorating . . . lively . . . Potemkin led a life full of drama, flair and intrigue. . . . A grand, epochal yarn of a life.” –Chicago Tribune

“Colorful figures cross the pages of this flamboyant biography. . . . A rollicking tale, balanced in treatment of its controversial characters.” –Boston Globe

“Superb. . . sumptuous. . . . Montefiore has a journalist’s instinct for getting behind the official version of events.” — Daily Telegraph (London)

“A wonderful story, and Sebag Montefiore tells it with joyful verve. . . . The material is so enjoyable, and it is related with evident pleasure and enthusiasm.” –The Times (London)

“A good, racy historical read. . . . The amazing story of Catherine the Great’s lover, then favorite, then secret husband, then chief advisor in ruling Russia, might seem the stuff of fiction; fortunately Sebag Montefiore’s researches have been so evidently extensive that this is clearly not the case.” –Antonia Fraser, author of The Wives of Henry VIII

“With great industry and huge enthusiasm [Montefiore] has combed the archives to give us a detailed account of a gigantic . . . figure.” – Sunday Express (London)

“[Montefiore’s] fascination shines through every page of this book. . . It could easily have been double the length, so enjoyable is it to read.” –Sunday Telegraph (London)

“Effortlessly readable and compelling. This is history as it should be written.” –The Sunday Herald

“A wonderful book . . . as magnificent as its subject. . . . Captures the iridescent spirit of Russia’s greatest adventurer.” –Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana

“This splendid biography, as sprawling, magnificent and exotic as its subject, provides for the first time in English a fully researched, accurate, and immensely readable history of this extraordinary man.” –Literary Review

“A passionate, but scholarly, defense of one of the greatest creative figures in Russian history.” –Evening Standard (London)

“Exhaustive and beautifully written. . . . A magnificent biography . . . which is as industrious and exuberant as the man himself.” –The Daily Mail (London)

“Montefiore’s enthusiasm and knowledge make this much more than just an engaging biography, it is a headlong gallop of a read.”–Anthony Beevor, author of Stalingrad

About the Author

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian of Russia. Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper and Marsh Biography prizes in Britain. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar was awarded the History Book of the Year Prize at the 2004 British Book Awards. Young Stalin won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, the Costa Biography Prize (UK) and the Kreisky Prize for Political Literature (Austria). His books are world bestsellers, published now in 35 languages. He is the author of a new novel, Sashenka. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Montefiore lives in London with his wife, the novelist Santa Montefiore, and their two children. For more details, visit: www.simonsebagmontefiore.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400077176
• ISBN-13: 978-1400077175
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Catherine was Great, July 14, 2006

By 

M. A Newman (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner (Paperback)

Frequently historians have chosen to focus on the more on the love affairs of Catherine the Great rather than on what she actually did to achieve greatness. After all of the things that Catherine is famous for are also things that won the Empresses Anna and Elizabeth notorious reputations. Catherine was great because she was a great ruler, not because she came to power with the aid of an army of lovers. She was also very good at talent spotting and the empire ran as well as it did because she could place members of the nobility in positions of influence.

One of the greatest of Catherine's assistants was Prince Potemkin. Simon Sebag Montefiore has broken new ground here and has exploded old myths. Potemkin emerges as the most capable of Catherine's subordinates, but also as her consort. Whereas previous books had dwelt on the eccentric qualities of Potemkin, this book demonstrates rather convincingly that he was in fact Catherine's consort. It appears that after a prolongued period Potemkin can be recognized for being something more that a battleship.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biography of a Great Man., April 16, 2009

By 

Regi Schtall "Amuzed" (Baltimore, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner (Paperback)

I always found the life story of Potemkin a very fascinating subject. However, there are not a lot of solid and nicely done researches out there on this particular persona. Most scholars focus on the history of Catherine the Great, and, although I am also interested in the life of the empress, I wanted to find something that would give a good description of Potemkin's life and his character. And then this book was a miraculous finding for me. It is very detailed and gives lots of information about Potemkin and the environment of 18th century Russia. Simon Sebag Montefiore did a superb job at writing such a good biography. I admire Montefiore's choice of subjects: Stalin, Potemkin, etc. There are very controversial figures in the history of Russia and it is difficult to write such an excellent work. I did not read the biography of Stalin, but I most definitely will.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Russian history of that period and who is fascinated by the persona of Potemkin and what hides beneath the legend of that man. However, one should be brave enough to power through tons of information Montefiore offers. It is a long, but entertaining reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest love stories of history, impeccably researched, beautifully written, August 31, 2010

By 

Asmahan (Dallas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner (Paperback)

What an exhilarating read! If it was a novel you wouldn't believe it, but it really happened in 18th century Russia! A splendid biography, as magnificent and exotic as its subjects, Potemkin, the prince of princes, most beautiful man in St.Petersperg, most extraordinary man in all Europe. Born a son of a poor Nobleman, he was not made by his friendship with Catherine the Great, but by her recognition of his talents, he became important because of his intelligence, originality, drive, and imagination, he brought himself to her attention with irresistible exuberance on the day she seized power, he was an impossible man, but a wonderful character! a control freak and an appalling hypochondriac who always made his point in a characteristically flamboyant manner, one can't help but become a fan.

He died at the young age of 52. Running a country at the time was immense pressure, not only was he co-emperor of Russia, he was also running the army, building a navy, founding cities all around the black sea, conducting umpteen love affairs, sending shopping expeditions to Paris and Milan, he was collecting art, he was building English gardens, this was a man who was living every minute of his life, an insomniac, so he did a lot of it at night!

Catherine the Great, a legendary figure, an incredibly talented and adept politician, second to none, she survived almost 20 years before she became empress herself, ruled triumphantly for thirty years, a very sensuous woman, married at the age of 14, a marriage arranged by her very ambitious mother, she had a very miserable life, in fact the marriage she had with Peter was so unhappy and so unsatisfying for such passionate inelegant woman. She needed a life partner, and after going through a series of lovers , finally there was Potemkin who (as the letters would prove) was the love and the best friend of her life, it was very romantic, for she knew him for 12 years before she took him as a lover, all that time he was passionately in love with her. They shocked Europe by taking younger lovers, yet they secretly married and ruled together as best friends and lifelong lovers.

Their secret letters, are the most romantic and unique letters ever written, simply because of the intelligence, politics,and power all mixed in with an incredible sexual passion and friendship. He carried her letters by his heart, and when he died he had them out and wept on them.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is an exceptional historian and writer. After reading his novel Sashenka, I couldn't wait to read all of his work, he tells it with joyful verve, The writing is fluent, with a dazzling mastery of detail. Montefiore's skill really shines in making a page-turner out of the most profound scholarship, that was massively researched in Russian archives as is all of his work, I highly recommend this book.