Customer Reviews

Royal Diaries: Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743

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Princess Sophie may not live as luxurious a life as, say, Queen Marie Antoinette of France, but she is a princess nevertheless. Sophie lives in the region of Anhalt-Zerbst, Germany, ruled by her soldier-father and mother, Johanna Elizabeth, who is more of royal blood than her husband. The family lives in a crumbling palace, and Sophie has few ladies-in-waiting, and instead plays with the poor German children that live in the villages, something her mother disapproves of. But when Sophie's parents receive a letter from Empress Elizabeth of Russia, requesting Sophie, a distant cousin of the heir to the throne, to come to Russia. What could it mean?

As it turns out, it means that Empress Elizabeth has chosen Sophie as the girl to marry her nephew, Charles-Peter, heir to the Russian throne. One day, Sophie will become Empress! Sophie and her mother, Johanna Elizabeth, set out on a journey with most of their servants through Germany and other countries all the way to Russia. Once there, Empress Elizabeth changes Sophie's name to Catherine. The new Catherine must learn the difficult Russian language, and has converted to Orthodox, a sect of Christianity which seems very strange to her. But Catherine's continues to be cruel and verbally abusive to her daughter, and eventually Empress Elizabeth sends her away. Soon, Catherine and Charles-Peter begin to become friends, hoping the friendship will turn into a relationship by the time they are crowned Emperor and Empress. Catherine never knew she would be one of Russia's greatest Empresses---Catherine the Great.

Kristiana Gregory has done an excellent job narrating the story of one of Russia's most profound, revered royalty figures, Catherine the Great. Before this finale to the wonderful Royal Diaries series, when I learned that Kristiana Gregory was writing this, I knew it would be great. The beloved author of Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile and Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine has written an exceptionally well-written finale to the Royal Diaries series. I was only disappointed that this would be the last book. Still, I highly recommend you to read this epic legacy of the personal lives of female royalty.

Highly recommended!