Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power, by Virginia Rounding

When I first read Anna Karenina, I was at the impressionable age of 15, and I became obsessed with all things Russian.  I finished AK, and immediately picked up biographical fiction on Catherine the Great, I watched the 1997 version of AK so much we all feared for the ability of the tape in the VHS to withstand my obsession (wow, talk about dating myself!), and when the Catherine Zeta-Jones biopic about Catherine was shown on History Television, it was appointment viewing for me.  Like all things at that age, I burned hot and fast for the Russkies, then things calmed down.  My decision to take Russian history and language classes in my undergrad was definitely influenced by that period in my life, and every so often, even today, I get the urge to read about Russian history.  And that’s what led me to my latest read, Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power, by Virginia Rounding.

Like most biographies of rulers, Rounding is stepping into some well-trod ground.  Beginning with a potted history of Catherine’s parents, and ending with a brief assessment of how Catherine’s immediate heirs handled taking over the Russian Empire from such a power-house ruler, Rounding’s assessment of Catherine’s life appears to be a tops-to-tails version.  (I freely admit this isn’t my area of expertise, so I don’t have an eye for any of the nuances.)

What, then, sets Rounding’s works apart from the countless other biographies on Catherine?  This work focuses mainly on Catherine’s own words to tell her story.  Catherine was a prolific author and a truly reasoned ruler; the results are a series of letters and writings that span the gamut from silly little love notes, to posterity writings, to formal diplomatic tracts.  It’s interesting to read Catherine’s words to her morganic husband, then pieces of correspondence to men like Voltaire, followed by her opinions as they were shared with the crown-heads of Europe.  Kudos to Rounding for collecting all these disparate pieces of evidence and bring them together, and breathing fresh life into a story that’s been told many times.

My one complaint is that Rounding hops from idea to idea without any sort of break to allow the reader to follow.  She’ll be going along swimmingly telling the reader about some aspect of Catherine’s life, then in the next paragraph (with no physical break, or a lead-in/introductory sentence) switch to a subject related to global politics.  These hops are very distracting, and become frustrating when they occur in quick succession.

All told though, this biography is exactly what I expected it too.  With the subtitle of Love, Sex, and Power, Rounding delivers.  So much of Catherine’s personal and professional history is wrapped up in brokering power dynamics between those she loved, those she slept with, and those who could bring her a measure of control in the Russian court.  It would be impossible to remove the power question from Catherine’s love life, and Rounding does a good job at demonstrating the balance that was created in the Court to accommodate this reality.

What this biography also did was set out to right a school-yard wrong done to Catherine by history.  Often times, when you ask someone who’s not well informed (about anything) what they know about Catherine, they’ll often give you a graphic summary of her sex life and how it led to her death; of course, I’m talking about that old stand-by story that Catherine died while having sex with a horse.  I myself often use that story to judge just how off-base (or dumb) a person is while talking about history.  I happen to agree with Rounding, who sees this rumour as almost a personal insult; intelligent people shouldn’t/don’t believe it, but it’s one of those rumours that persists, mainly (I think) because less intelligent people aren’t comfortable with attributing greatness to a woman like Catherine.  Okay, feminist rant over.

So, final verdict?  If you’re looking for an interesting write-up on Catherine, this is a good book.  While there are some flaws that can be hard to ignore, Rounding’s methods and primary documents are really quite interesting and offer a unique look at Catherine’s personal and professional life.  I’m not saying this perspective is enough to over-look the flaws in Rounding’s style, but I enjoyed it enough to power-through.  I guess what I’m saying, is that this isn’t a work for the casual reader – you don’t have to be obsessed with all things Russian to get through it, but it might take a bit more dedication than the average read to finish.