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kimreadz's review against another edition
3.0
Why did you choose this book? I enjoy historical fiction and recently developed an interest in Russian history
When did you read this book? December 2011
Who should read this book? readers of historical fiction, Russian history
Source: Obtained ARC from Netgalley for review
I did enjoy this book, but I thought the title was a little misleading. The book was not centered around Catherine the Great, and in fact, didn’t cover much of her reign over Russia. The story is really told by a palace servant and most of the story takes place during the reign of Empress Elizabeth.
Barbara is the daughter of a Polish book binder who has brought his family to Russia. The Empress takes note of him when he is able to restore a treasured book. When Barbara’s mother dies, his father asks the Empress to look after his daughter if something should happen to him; he dies shortly thereafter. Barbara is brought to the palace as a lowly servant, and works her way up to become a spy for the Chancellor and the Empress. The Empress also renames her the more Russian, Varvara. Varvara befriends Sophia, the young princess brought to the palace to become the bride of the Grand Duke Peter, nephew of the Empress. Peter is being groomed as the future ruler. Sophia later takes the name Catherine. The story is told through the eyes of Barbara/Varvara and follows the years as Elizabeth rules Russia, and as the reigns of Peter and Catherine follow. But in addition to the story of Catherine, much of the story involves Varvara's personal life and her marriage and motherhood.
I read this book hoping to learn a bit about Russia during this period, and I did. But I sensed the history here is embellished and ‘shaped’ to fit the story. I’m not sure I really have an accurate idea of Russia, and in particular, Catherine and Peter. However it did motivate me to look Catherine up on the internet to read a bit more, so it did serve as an introduction to the period. I look forward to reading more about this era. The Winter Palace is good read if you enjoy historical fiction
When did you read this book? December 2011
Who should read this book? readers of historical fiction, Russian history
Source: Obtained ARC from Netgalley for review
I did enjoy this book, but I thought the title was a little misleading. The book was not centered around Catherine the Great, and in fact, didn’t cover much of her reign over Russia. The story is really told by a palace servant and most of the story takes place during the reign of Empress Elizabeth.
Barbara is the daughter of a Polish book binder who has brought his family to Russia. The Empress takes note of him when he is able to restore a treasured book. When Barbara’s mother dies, his father asks the Empress to look after his daughter if something should happen to him; he dies shortly thereafter. Barbara is brought to the palace as a lowly servant, and works her way up to become a spy for the Chancellor and the Empress. The Empress also renames her the more Russian, Varvara. Varvara befriends Sophia, the young princess brought to the palace to become the bride of the Grand Duke Peter, nephew of the Empress. Peter is being groomed as the future ruler. Sophia later takes the name Catherine. The story is told through the eyes of Barbara/Varvara and follows the years as Elizabeth rules Russia, and as the reigns of Peter and Catherine follow. But in addition to the story of Catherine, much of the story involves Varvara's personal life and her marriage and motherhood.
I read this book hoping to learn a bit about Russia during this period, and I did. But I sensed the history here is embellished and ‘shaped’ to fit the story. I’m not sure I really have an accurate idea of Russia, and in particular, Catherine and Peter. However it did motivate me to look Catherine up on the internet to read a bit more, so it did serve as an introduction to the period. I look forward to reading more about this era. The Winter Palace is good read if you enjoy historical fiction
margiebentley's review against another edition
4.0
This book was well-written and I believe quite a bit of research was put into it as well. It is a very interesting story about the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great. Fascinating topic!
jenrotsaert's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read. But as far as a novel - I thought the characters were a bit flat.
I am not usually drawn to historical fiction. Perhaps this is normal for the genre?
Having said that, I do plan to purchase the sequel when it becomes available.
I am not usually drawn to historical fiction. Perhaps this is normal for the genre?
Having said that, I do plan to purchase the sequel when it becomes available.
elibug's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
danaisreading's review against another edition
3.0
Received this as a Goodreads Giveaway.
While the book is subtitled "A novel of Catherine the Great", it's really not about her. The novel is about life in the court of the Empress Elizabeth as seen through the eyes of a court spy, Varvara Nikolayevna. Varvara is one of Catherine's servants, who was ordered by the Empress to befriend Catherine when she first arrives in St. Petersburg. Varvara reports to the Empress everything about Catherine's life. During this time, Varvara believes she and Catherine become good friends, and Varvara becomes a devoted supporter of Catherine in the game of court intrigues. The book goes through the Empress's death, the Grand Duke Peter's ascension to the throne, and the first couple of years after Catherine's coup to become Empress herself.
The book itself is well written, and that period of Russian history is fascinating, so it's worth the read. However, the fact that Catherine is essentially a secondary character in what is supposed to be a novel about her is disappointing and a bit of false advertising, so it loses a star for that. The second loss of a star is because the story drags a bit in the first half. It took about two weeks to read about 200 of the 400 pages in the novel. It didn't hold my interest enough to read more than a few pages at a time, and it was easy to put down and do or read something else. However, the second half of the novel does pick up, and I finished the rest of the book in about a day.
While the book is subtitled "A novel of Catherine the Great", it's really not about her. The novel is about life in the court of the Empress Elizabeth as seen through the eyes of a court spy, Varvara Nikolayevna. Varvara is one of Catherine's servants, who was ordered by the Empress to befriend Catherine when she first arrives in St. Petersburg. Varvara reports to the Empress everything about Catherine's life. During this time, Varvara believes she and Catherine become good friends, and Varvara becomes a devoted supporter of Catherine in the game of court intrigues. The book goes through the Empress's death, the Grand Duke Peter's ascension to the throne, and the first couple of years after Catherine's coup to become Empress herself.
The book itself is well written, and that period of Russian history is fascinating, so it's worth the read. However, the fact that Catherine is essentially a secondary character in what is supposed to be a novel about her is disappointing and a bit of false advertising, so it loses a star for that. The second loss of a star is because the story drags a bit in the first half. It took about two weeks to read about 200 of the 400 pages in the novel. It didn't hold my interest enough to read more than a few pages at a time, and it was easy to put down and do or read something else. However, the second half of the novel does pick up, and I finished the rest of the book in about a day.
summerseeds's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t like it. This was an audiobook, and the reader’s Russian voices were pretty terrible. But more than that, I just wasn’t a fan of the story. I didn’t care as much for Varvara as I should have, especially considering all she went through, and I hated everyone else. Empress Elizabeth and Catherine were both the worst. From what I remember of my Russian History class, Peter was the most realistic character.
fireweed15's review against another edition
4.0
It was a decent enough book—factually interesting, and the characters engaging. The history feels a little embellished, but it's just enough to make it interesting.
erpedraja's review against another edition
2.0
While I found the characterization of Catherine the Great interesting, I found the narrator, Barbara , bland and uninteresting. I found it hard to care what happened to her, and rarely understood her motives
pfreese's review against another edition
3.0
The novel began well and I was enthralled for the first many pages; however as the book came to the middle I began to get bored with it and skimmed much of the middle pages. The end picked up again and I enjoyed the ending. An alright novel, the characters were pleasant enough and you grew to like some over others. I wish the middle had been a little better though.
kellygoesgeocaching's review against another edition
3.0
A very interesting topic; the arrival in Russia and subsequent rise of Catherine the Great, told from an unfortunately often-boring perspective of a palace-girl-turned-spy. This book had potential and I was very intrigued by the Russian history however it fell a little flat.