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A review by thereadingrunnner
Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten
4.0
"Telling the truth might not always save you. But maiming your soul will destroy you for sure. What good to conquer the world if you damage your soul?" -pg 80
I absolutely loved this novel! Marta's story is the Russian Cinderella tale. She is sold off by her family to a beastly man for a piece of silver, and so begins her story as she then proceeds to claw her way to the very top. The path she takes is torturous at times, but it is clear from the start how clever she is and how wittingly she is able to read people to make the best of each situation. She eventually wins the heart of Peter, tsar of all the Russias and we learn of her sacrifices, her devotion, her heartaches and her power as she takes on the name Catherine.
Admittedly I know little to nothing of this time period of Russia. The war aspects got a little confusing at times, but really, a true knowledge of the actual battles, etc was not required to thoroughly enjoy the story. The true tale here is the rags to riches story of Marta/Catherine and what it takes to keep the tsar close to her side and how she cunningly maintains her power and dignity within the relationship. I found her to be absolutely fascinating and a true badass woman, at least as much as one possibly can be in such a male dominated culture of that time period, when a woman's only benefit in men's eyes was providing sex and male heirs . Yet she was able to be much more for Peter and he often admits having her by his side helped to guide him. She was able to, at times, melt the tsar's icy heart and allow him to feel small flickers of compassion, despite the true monster that he was at times. I couldn't help but find myself rooting for Catherine at (almost) every turn. I turned a little sour towards her at the end. Without spoilers, let's just say she has some character flaws and is a lot more selfish than I realized. But as the tsar takes his last breath, which is revealed in the opening pages, we then are left to wonder as we read through her story, whether or not she has done enough to be crowned Tsarina, as there is no male heir to lead Russia and take the title. Or is the tsar as cruel and unforgiving as we are led to believe, despite her devotion during his rule?
I absolutely loved this novel! Marta's story is the Russian Cinderella tale. She is sold off by her family to a beastly man for a piece of silver, and so begins her story as she then proceeds to claw her way to the very top. The path she takes is torturous at times, but it is clear from the start how clever she is and how wittingly she is able to read people to make the best of each situation. She eventually wins the heart of Peter, tsar of all the Russias and we learn of her sacrifices, her devotion, her heartaches and her power as she takes on the name Catherine.
Admittedly I know little to nothing of this time period of Russia. The war aspects got a little confusing at times, but really, a true knowledge of the actual battles, etc was not required to thoroughly enjoy the story. The true tale here is the rags to riches story of Marta/Catherine and what it takes to keep the tsar close to her side and how she cunningly maintains her power and dignity within the relationship. I found her to be absolutely fascinating and a true badass woman, at least as much as one possibly can be in such a male dominated culture of that time period, when a woman's only benefit in men's eyes was providing sex and male heirs . Yet she was able to be much more for Peter and he often admits having her by his side helped to guide him. She was able to, at times, melt the tsar's icy heart and allow him to feel small flickers of compassion, despite the true monster that he was at times. I couldn't help but find myself rooting for Catherine at (almost) every turn. I turned a little sour towards her at the end. Without spoilers, let's just say she has some character flaws and is a lot more selfish than I realized. But as the tsar takes his last breath, which is revealed in the opening pages, we then are left to wonder as we read through her story, whether or not she has done enough to be crowned Tsarina, as there is no male heir to lead Russia and take the title. Or is the tsar as cruel and unforgiving as we are led to believe, despite her devotion during his rule?