Catherine the Great: Selected Letters

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Catherine The Great Andrew Kahn (Professor of Russian Literature, Fellow and Tutor, St Edmund Hall, Oxford)

Catherine the Great

Selected Letters

Catherine The Great, Andrew Kahn (Professor of Russian Literature, Fellow and Tutor, St Edmund Hall, Oxford), Kelsey Rubin-Detlev (Foote Junior Research Fellow, The Queen's College, Oxford)

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English

Oxford University Press
09 August 2018

Autobiography: historical, political & military; Autobiography: royalty; Diaries, letters & journals

Series: Oxford World's Classics

'Your Majesty may find it extraordinary that I should answer with a shipment of fruit your letter of 6 August, in which you inform me that you are sending the plan for a treaty, and that of the 8 September, in which you are so good as to share with me equally important intelligence. Things big and small often come from the same source: my watermelons derive from the same principles as our planned alliance...' (To Frederick the Great)Catherine the Great's letters present a vivid picture of Russia in a momentous age. They also offer a unique account of her personal development and intimate life, her strategic acumen as a diplomat and military commander, and her political skills at the Russian court and in handling foreign monarchs. Born a German princess, Catherine married into the Russian royal family and came to the throne after a coup. As absolute ruler for 34 years she presided over the expansion of the Russian empire, legislated actively to reform the country in keeping with the principles of the Enlightenment, actively promoted the arts and sciences, and in her correspondence engaged with the most renowned minds in Europe, among them Diderot and Voltaire. Her letters are her literary masterpiece, written to a wide circle of associates and friends, not least her most celebrated lover and ally, Potemkin. Combining her wit, charm, and quick eye for detail, they entertain and tell the griping story of a self-made woman and legendary ruler. This edition of the letters offers a taste of Catherine's entire writing career, with biographies of Catherine's addressees, a thorough overview of her reign and an analysis of Catherine's literary skill as a letter-writer. Organized chronologically and thematically into six periods, each section also features an introduction to the domestic, personal and foreign policy contexts out of which her letters emerge.

By: Catherine The Great
Translated by: Andrew Kahn (Professor of Russian Literature Fellow and Tutor St Edmund Hall Oxford), Kelsey Rubin-Detlev (Foote Junior Research Fellow, The Queen's College, Oxford)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 197mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 334g
ISBN: 9780198736462
ISBN 10: 0198736460
Series: Oxford World's Classics
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 09 August 2018
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Andrew Kahn has written widely on Russian literature. His books include The Cambridge Companion to Pushkin (2006) and Pushkin's Lyric Intelligence (2008). For Oxford World's Classics he has edited Pushkin's The Queen of Spades and Other Stories, Montesquieu's Persian Letters, Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. and Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories. Kelsey Rubin-Detlev read Modern Languages (French and Russian) at Christ Church, Oxford, and was awarded a Congratulatory First. She completed her doctoral dissertation at Oxford on the subject of Catherine the Great and epistolarity.

Reviews for Catherine the Great: Selected Letters

With their wide range of correspondents and topics, these letters, which have been ably translated, will help further understanding of this most charismatic of Russian rulers, whose tastes and personality helped shape Enlightenment Europe. * Vera Proskurina (2019) Catherine the great: selected letters, Women's Writing *