![]() (Indeed, were she a man, those sexual liaisons would have had no part in determining her success as a ruler.) Her most significant liaison with the man she called Grishenka – the man who helped her build her empire and the highest in the pantheon of “favorites” – is the glue that holds the story together, even after Grishenka’s death. The purported insatiable sexual desires that have sometimes colored opinions about Catherine’s success in building an enormous and powerful empire are underplayed in many instances. Using vignettes peppered with returns to Catherine’s sick bed, Stachniak tells the story of Catherine’s family, her marriage, her “favorites,” her successes and failures. By the time her attendants find her minutes later on the floor of her privy, she has suffered a massive stroke.ĭuring the next 36 hours, Catherine, who cannot communicate, relives her life, from her days as the young and innocent Princess Sophie to being the most powerful woman of her time. Her splitting headache is followed by numbness in her hand. ![]() ![]() Catherine II, Empress of Russia, is 67 years old. Empress of the Night: A Novel of Catherine the Great ![]()
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