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The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great [Kindle Edition]

Eva Stachniak
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)

Print List Price: $15.00
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Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
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Book Description

From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that tells the epic story of Catherine the Great’s improbable rise to power—as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.
 
Her name is Barbara—in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen—and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie’s destiny at court is to marry the Empress’s nephew, but she has loftier, more dangerous ambitions. What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie’s confidante—and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power.
 
“A majestic and splendidly written tale of pride, passion, intrigue, and deceit that is brought alive from the first page to the last.”—Rosalind Laker

“At the same time baroque and intimate, worldly and domestic, wildly strange and soulfully familiar, The Winter Palace offers a flickering glimpse of history through the gauze of deft entertainment.”—The Washington Post
 
“A thrilling point of view . . . Readers are treated to a firsthand account of the young princess’s slow ascent to the throne, a path deliciously strewn with discarded lovers and sanguine court intrigues.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
 
“[A] brilliant, bold historical novel . . . This superb biographical epic proves the Tudors don’t have a monopoly on marital scandal, royal intrigue, or feminine triumph.”—Booklist (starred review)


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tasha Alexander Reviews The Winter Palace

Tasha Alexander is the author of the bestselling Lady Emily series. She attended the University of Notre Dame, where she signed on as an English major in order to have a legitimate excuse for spending all her time reading. A confirmed Anglophile from birth, she and her husband, novelist Andrew Grant, divide their time between Chicago and the UK.

Like most lovers of historical fiction, I’m on constant lookout for a book into which I can completely disappear, one that will engulf all my senses and, in effect, turn my couch into a time machine. I want the history to be accurate, the characters to be compelling, and the story to make me reconsider preconceived notions about a period outside the area of my expertise. Eva Stachniak’s The Winter Palace does all that in spectacular fashion.

The scandal, luxury, and political unrest rife in eighteenth century Russia provide a rich backdrop, and Stachniak takes full advantage of all of it without sticking to the ordinary and expected. Instead of presenting Catherine the Great at the peak of her powers, she gives us the infamous empress during her youth, when she was Sophie, a young German duchess betrothed to the future Tsar Peter III. A not entirely welcome foreigner, Sophie is thrust into a court full of corruption and deceit, where nothing is more important than have a source of reliable information. It is by taking advantage of this circumstance that Stachniak gives her novel extra depth. Catherine is not the protagonist of The Winter Palace. Stachniak tells her story through Barbara, a young woman whose heartbreaking life has led her to employment as an ill-treated seamstress at the palace.

Until someone realizes she’d make a better spy.

Stachniak’s well-chosen protagonist enables her to give the novel a full and satisfying depiction of the Imperial Court, seen not only through the eyes of the privileged nobility, but through a woman who is keenly aware of what goes on above and below stairs. She brings to life the plight of the less fortunate and the delicate balance of truth and lies necessary to survive in the murky labyrinth of Barbara’s world. Stachniak fills her novel with intricate details--the opulence is all but tangible--but never does so at the expense of her story, which moves along at a clipped pace. Her prose, lush and evocative, is as elegant as the fabled Amber Room at Catherine’s summer palace.

The Winter Palace should secure Stachniak a place among the best historical novelists. It is one of those rare books that grabs the reader and won’t let go, one that begs to be read again, one that lingers pleasantly in the mind long after the finishing the last page. And for me, it proved itself in a more simple way: the minute I closed the book, I wanted to get my hands on everything else Stachniak has written.

Review

Praise for The Winter Palace
"The book roars along, with all the backstabbing, forced marriages, shifting alliances and drama that make up this royal household. . . . A very entertaining book."
The Gazette (Montreal)

"Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material. . . . [Her] vision casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly what a piece of historical fiction should do."
—The Globe and Mail

"A sweeping novel."
—O, The Oprah Magazine Magazine

Product Details

  • File Size: 2146 KB
  • Print Length: 465 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 038566656X
  • Publisher: Bantam (January 10, 2012)
  • Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004J4X7HG
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,790 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and atmospheric! August 27, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Russia has always been surrounded by an aura of mystery even today and the Winter Palace and Saint Petersburg seem as far off and remote as the moon! In this fine historical novel by Polish born Eva Stachniak we are going to sneak right into the palace and right into the private rooms of royalty. You get the feeling throughout this novel that the author understands the Russian psyche well, bringing to life the exalted men and women of Russia's elite and the servants who toil to keep the palaces functioning.

In fact we are going to be Peeping Toms. Or actually, Peeping Thomasinas as "Winter Palace" is penned by a servant girl named Varvara. The old saying that no man is a hero to his valet is pretty much true here as Varvara sees everything, goes everywhere and judges much. Although the way Varvara manages to inveigle herself into the palace is complicated and contrived, this novel is a splendid romp. Varvara becomes the confident of Empress Elizabeth and closely observes her nephew, the Crown Prince Peter who at 16 years of age is cowardly, neurotic.and still wets his bed. She also becomes the friend and confident of the German princess Sophie, in fact she is a sort of double agent. We see the immense panorama of the times through Varvara's eyes.

Everybody in the palace from the Empress Elizabeth to the lowliest scullery maid is waiting with baited breath the arrival of 14 year old Sophie of Anhalt, an obscure German princess who might be a possible mate for the Crown Prince Peter. She is arriving at the palace to be vetted. Sophie is approved and when she has converted (very enthusiastically) to Russian Orthodox, she is married to Crown Prince and assumes the name of Catherine.
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96 of 106 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Long-winded and not very engaging September 15, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I'll start by saying I really did think I would enjoy this novel when I picked it out. It is exactly the type of novel I normally go for--historical fiction based upon a key figure in history. This novel is also told through the voice of a third party, which I also usually enjoy, as it allows the reader to see the broader spectrum of events from that period of time. I have never read an historical fiction novel based upon Catherine the Great before and so I was eager to begin reading this novel.
It started out with a lot of promise, introducing Varvara as our voice of the novel, giving a quick sweep of her background, and then placing her perfectly within the Russian court, under the wing of the 'spy-master' Chancellor Bestuzhev. I knew from the synopsis that Varvara was to become the confidante of Catherine, and so the anticipation of how this relationship was to be shaped by the author grew and grew as I read. And then it fizzled out. Although Varvara had been secretly loyal to Catherine all along, the point in their relationship when Catherine finally asked Varvara to be 'on her side' did not occur until halfway through the novel, and even then I felt that Varvara did not become Catherine's true confidante until about two thirds of the way through when she alone was privy to Catherine's relationship with a certain lover. By this point I was so tired of the monotony of the story--Varvara reporting gossip to the Empress Elizabeth, then reporting gossip to Catherine, then reporting gossip to the Chancellor. And the gossip wasn't even that interesting. Lots of names of people and places, but no historical detail that could serve to widen my knowledge or perspective of this time in history.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Slow Moving Novel October 1, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
When her mother expires of cholera and her father, a Polish bookbinder in the Russian court, dies soon after of a broken heart, Barbara Nikolayevna or Varvara in Russian is left an orphan at the mercy of Empress Elizabeth. At first, the woman in charge of female servants treats Varvara miserably, but soon she takes the eye of Alexi Bestuzhev-Rhumin, the Chancellor of Russia.

For a few sexual favours, he trains her in the art of spying and helps her to gain the confidence of the empress. Eventually she is given a prominent position in the palace, high enough to begin a friendship with the young Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst who becomes Catherine the Great. It is through the eyes and point-of-view of Varvara that the book is written.

I really wanted to like this book a lot. The blood of Mother Russia runs through the veins of my own husband, and I am always fascinated by the history of that country, sad as it is. But I found the plot moved forward very slowly, and it took me much longer than usual to read the novel. It's definitely not a page-turner; rather a book to take in small doses.

That's not to say it isn't well done. The writing is literary and beautiful in style--often quite poetic--but it is a dirge rather than a lyrical piece. It is often depressing. As I read, I could almost hear the sound of The Volga Boatmen in the background. It is that natural Russian melancholy that prevails throughout the story.

Still, I would recommend it so any lover of historical fiction. There is lots to learn from the book. Although rather improbable, it is very informative at times.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars My latest Russian history fix!
An excellent well-written novel of Catherine the Great as told through the eyes of a "tongue" to both Empress Elizabeth and Catherine. Read more
Published 9 hours ago by C. McKee
1.0 out of 5 stars fringe
I liked the premise, historical fiction with espionage, entangled with romance. However be advised, there are references to beastiality, which is why I'm crossing this author off... Read more
Published 1 day ago by The view
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
This book was written with everything I love about a good novel, the right amount of subject matter and it moved along very nicely. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Catherine Ann Geib
3.0 out of 5 stars Goood Historical novel.
The book is entertaining. You learned the customes and human vehavios in the 18 century. Good read. I recommedn this book for reqaders not familiar with the historical facots... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Alberto Forero
5.0 out of 5 stars Russia before Catherine!
I read Catherine the Great last year and wish I had perhaps read this before. Though I still enjoyed it immensely. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Lorna Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!!!
I am not going to write much because others have written much about the plot etc. I just want it known that I loved this book and I am looking for more of her Books. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Delia A. Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars Inside Espionage
How do the "Great" ones avoid being destroyed by those who fear their ambition and envy their ability? Read more
Published 9 days ago by Susan Aylworth
4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating narrative
Told through the eyes of a bookbinder's daughter, the story of power, loyalty and intrigue keeps one in suspense and wanting more at the Winter Palace. Great summer read.
Published 10 days ago by Jacqueline
3.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction
This was interesting. Not great but definitely not a waste of time. Human nature and the laws that apply to those in "high" places seem to be the same throughout the... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Michal
5.0 out of 5 stars Intensely interesting portrayal
I didn't know much about Catherine the Great of Russia, but this novel, seen through the eyes of one of her closest friends, gives a glimpse of what it was like in 18th century... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Christine J. Dieckhoff
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More About the Author

I was born in Wrocław, Poland.

I came to Canada in 1981 on an English scholarship to McGill University where I defended my doctoral thesis in 1988. In Poland I taught at the English Department of the University of Wrocław.

In 1984-86 I worked for Radio Canada International, the Polish Section, in Montreal, writing and producing radio programs about Canada. In 1988 I joined the faculty of Sheridan College where I taught English and humanities courses until 2007.

My first short story, "Marble Heroes," was published by the Antigonish Review in 1994, and my debut novel, Necessary Lies, won the Amazon.com/Books in CanadaFirst Novel Award in 2000.

I live in Toronto.

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