Description
Book SynopsisOf all of history''s great romances, few can compare with that of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin. Their turbulent and complicated relationship shocked their contemporaries and continues to intrigue observers of Russia centuries later. Lovers, companions, and, most likely, husband and wife, Catherine and Potemkin were also close political partners, and for a time Potemkin served as Catherine''s de facto co-ruler of the Russian Empire. Their letters offer an intimate glimpse into the lovers'' unguarded moments, revealing both ecstatic expressions of love and candid insights on eighteenth-century politics.
In February 1774, the Russian empress took Grigory Potemkin for her lover and, it is now believed, secretly married him a few months later. Particularly in the first two years of their relationship, Catherine was consumed by her passion for Potemkin. The hundreds of letters and notes she dashed off to him between assignations in the Winter Palace during this ti
Trade Review
Carefully conceived and magnificently executed, this splendid translation allows readers access to an exceptionally instructive and entertaining source.
-- Simon Dixon, University of Leeds
Love and Conquest is an extraordinarily impressive achievement that will be the standard English reference for years to come.
-- Ronald Vroon, UCLA
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Note on the Translation
1. Ardent Zeal, Sincere Confessions—1769–1774
2. Lovers—1774–1775
3. Breaking Up—1776
4. Partners—1777–1781
5. Annexing the Crimea—1782–1783
6. Southern Vision—1784–1787
7. War—1787
8. The Siege of Ochakov—1788
9. A Gallant Campaign, the Count's Betrayal, and Blackie
10. One Paw Out of the Mud
11. Death on the Steppe
Appendix I: Maps
Appendix II: Chronology
Appendix III: Table of Ranks
Index
