Selected Letters of Catherine the Great
Translated by Andrew Kahn and Kelsey Rubin-Detlev
History as a concept can be problematic linguistically from the start, Just look at the word – an amalgam of his and story – and you can see where the focus is going to be. There is still perhaps a belief that great deeds are done by great men, and women are often marginalised to the sidelines. However, thinking of, for example, the great monarchs of the past just shows how that isn’t necessarily the case. Elizabeth I in this country is unforgettable; and the Russian monarch Catherine the Great is just as legendary.
Oxford World Classics have just brought out a brilliant book of her Selected Letters and I thought it would be fascinating to take a look at this during WIT Month; particularly after having spent some time with another great Russian, Marina Tsvetaeva. The two women couldn’t be further apart, really, but both had equally fascinating lives, and I’m enjoying very much dipping into Catherine’s correspondence.
The introduction is excellent, providing background to Catherine’s reign, her vast achievements and just what an educated woman she was. This was the real Golden Age of letter writing which was an art in itself, and she excelled in using the form for personal and diplomatic purposes. The book is divided into sections that follow her career chronologically, focusing on the main aspects which informed her writings at those points. So we see the young queen finding her way when new in the role; fostering cultural connections with European countries and philosophers such as Voltaire and Diderot; dealing with war and conflict; expanding the Russian empire; and also more personal contacts with her various lovers. Catherine’s reign was a long one and she was in many ways a self-made woman. Born a German princess, she embraced Russianness wholeheartedly, becoming synonymous with her country and determined to drag it forward culturally and in terms of conquest. And this was no mean feat, for a country the size of Russia contained so many different elements, people and cultures that to set out a set of laws and regulations that applied to all was nigh on impossible.
In the end, the laws that people are talking so much about have not been made yet, and who can say whether they will be good or not? Truly, it is posterity, and not we, who will be in a position to settle this question. Just think, I beg you: the laws must work for Asia and for Europe. What differences of climate, peoples, habits, even ideas!
The “Selected Letters” is an exemplary book, and demonstrates exactly how you should produce a scholarly yet readable volume. The introduction is detailed enough to give you perfect context, there’s a chronology, notes are indicated in the text by an asterisk, and crucially, each letter has its own short paragraph to introduce it and explain context. So it’s perfect for dipping into, which I think is how I shall carry on with it, because each letter is so beautifully written that it deserves to be savoured and not rushed. I confess the print size of the intro paragraphs is quite small for my ageing eyes, so dipping will help with this too, but I’m intrigued by this woman and shall enjoy making my way through her letters.

Andrew Shiva [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or Attribution], from Wikimedia Commons
(Review copy kindly provided by the publishers, for which many thanks!)
Aug 20, 2018 @ 14:04:25
Oh this looks so good. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I must find a copy immediately!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 14:56:22
It’s fascinating stuff Melissa – definitely worth you tracking down!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 14:07:28
“The introduction is detailed enough to give you perfect context, there’s a chronology, notes are indicated in the text by an asterisk, and crucially, each letter has its own short paragraph to introduce it and explain context.” – YESSSSS! This is enough in its own right to recommend the book, isn’t it!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 14:55:38
It really is! It makes the whole reading experience so much more pleasurable!!! 😁😁😁
Aug 20, 2018 @ 19:28:50
I hardly know anything about Catherine, and I’d like to read more books of letters, so I’ll look out for this! The dipping-in element appeals too – I’m going through a bit of a reading slump so this could be just the remedy 🙂
Aug 20, 2018 @ 20:46:51
It is beautifully dippable and the introduction gives a good overview of Catherine’s life too!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 21:04:33
She sounds wonderful! This seems like a well thought out volume.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 09:27:34
It really is, and so interesting!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 21:05:43
This sounds excellent, especially with such a detailed introduction and a paragraph detailing each individual letter. What a fascinating portrait this must be.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 09:26:59
The supporting material is crucial to this book, definitely. And it’s fascinating reading – what an interesting woman she was!
Aug 20, 2018 @ 21:52:16
She was a bit like another notorious Catherine, Catherine de Medici, if I remember correctly. But certainly did a tremendous amount for her adopted country.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 09:26:12
She did indeed! And I know nothing about Catherine of Medici so I shall have to check her out!
Aug 21, 2018 @ 04:17:49
Thanks for the post. I just ordered a copy from my local bookshop and it will be here in 1 week.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 09:25:31
Hope you enjoy – it’s fascinating reading!
Aug 21, 2018 @ 07:42:40
I love this too, and I agree, it’s a book to dip into – and then follow up with exploring the topic further. A perfect way to discover so much more about Russian history.
BTW I am currently reading City Folk and Country Folk by ‘the Russian Austen’ Sofia Khvoshchinskaya, (transl Nora Seligman Favorov) recommended by Guy Savage, and it’s a fascinating portrait of 19th century Russian life from a woman’s PoV. It’s made me realise that (apart from Catherine) although I’ve read a fair bit of The Russian Greats – I had never read anything by a female C19th author… (the review will be up on my blog in the next day or two, if life doesn’t get in the way).
Aug 21, 2018 @ 09:25:04
City Folk… is great, isn’t it? I reviewed it for Shiny New Books and loved it. The CUP Russian Library has some gems. And yes, you’re right – so few women writers from that period and all the great Russians we know of are male. But I did wonder if that was a translation issue – maybe there are lots of women authors we just don’t know because they’re untranslated!
Aug 21, 2018 @ 10:59:33
Well, the intro says that they published under male names, as was also common in the UK…
Aug 21, 2018 @ 11:56:29
Indeed, so there might even be more we don’t know about in untranslated form…
Aug 21, 2018 @ 23:10:04
Yes, and you see, although there weren’t as many female writers as male at the time of the revolution, all the women’s work was suppressed whereas apparently there were 57 writers deemed ok for the masses to read…
Aug 21, 2018 @ 10:57:44
This caught my attention since you mentioned it a few posts before. Your review made me buy an ebook copy (together with one of Earthly Signs) … My TBR keeps growing because of the blogging community! 🙂
Aug 21, 2018 @ 11:57:26
I know – book blogs are the worst/best for discovering yet another book you really must have…😁😉
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:24:37
I’m intrigued. I know there are some good biographies – and I own one of them – but read about a woman from history in her own words is something we can rarely do.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:38:45
Exactly. My biographies of Catherine are fairly ancient and could do with an update, but these letters are certainly giving a great insight into her life. Absolutely fascinating!
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:38:01
This does sound very appealing. I’ll have to check the ebook Juliana mentions.
I’m more familiar with Catherine de Medici. A fascinating woman.
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:42:46
Her whole life is fascinating, but to be able to read from her side of things is a real treat. And Catherine de Medici is sounding more and more like someone I need to find out about!
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:38:36
Did I accidentally reply to Jane?
Aug 21, 2018 @ 14:43:19
No – all’s fine! 😀
Aug 21, 2018 @ 22:11:59
It’s nice to have “dipping” books alongside proper reading volumes. I feel like it adds something to both categories in the stacks. The context here would be invaluable and I will have an eye for this one. Although it sounds like a younger eye would be even more useful under the circumstances!
Aug 23, 2018 @ 22:27:16
I’ve always been fascinated by Catherine the Great, and the selection of letters sounds marevelous . I remember proudly reading a bio of Catherine in my teens (any woman ruler was interesting to me) and a boyfriend’s telling me that she had an affair with her horse! Now it must have been extreme misogyny for anyone to say that!
Aug 24, 2018 @ 08:23:51
She was a fascinating woman, that’s for sure, but not the way the scurrilous rumours would have it. The horse business is a totally apocryphal story about how she died (she didn’t) and it just shows how some people think they need to demean a powerful woman leader…
Mar 02, 2019 @ 15:54:06
I haven’t read this one but I did with Robert K. Massie’s ‘Catherine the Great. Portrait of a woman. It was somehow so personal to read about her private life and see her motivations and fears behind everyting she did. Like reading your own diary almost. At the same time I understood but I also felt dissapointed when she began the censorship in Russia following the French Revolution. And her terrible influence over the Polish Partitions. I’ll definetely check this one. I also did my best to write, a short post trying to sum up as much as I could:
https://historytotallynaked.com/2019/03/02/catherine-the-great-enlightened-german-princess-became-empress-of-russia-part1/
Mar 02, 2019 @ 19:17:23
It’s definitely worth checking out – such a fascinating (if very complex) woman. It also gives much insight into the Russia of the time, court protocols etc etc and because it’s an OWC edition there’s a ton of supporting material. And thanks for the link to your post – I’ll check it out! 😀
Mar 02, 2019 @ 20:57:04
No prob. And check the book if you have time. A great piece, also Peter the Great’s book of the same author is fantastic and very thrilling
Mar 02, 2019 @ 21:03:02
Thanks! Massie’s Nicholas and Alexandra was one of my early Russia books many many moons ago, and I still have it! 😀