Tsarina

September 28, 2020
Alpsten’s overlong but ultimately rewarding debut chronicles the life of the first woman to rule Imperial Russia. In 1725, Peter the Great dies without a male heir old enough to rule, and his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, schemes for a place in the succession. Alpsten flashes back to Catherine’s past, beginning with her birth as a peasant in 1684 and the poverty and abuse she suffers until her beauty catches the eye of Alexander Menshikov, the czar’s closest friend, when Russia’s wars with Sweden brings its army to her home near the Baltic Sea. Peter is drawn to her sexuality and fearlessness and takes her as a mistress. None of her 12 pregnancies with him result in a male heir, but her shrewdness helps cement her relationship with the czar, who marries her in 1712 and crowns her czarina in 1724. Catherine bonds with Menshikov and others as a way to cope with Peter’s philandering and cruelty, even as his vision transforms a once-hidebound nation with a series of modernizing reforms. Though the prose can be clumsy and the time spent on Catherine’s early years feels superfluous, Alpsten shines once she puts Catherine in Peter’s orbit. Lovers of Russian history, strong women protagonists, and sweeping historicals will savor this vivid portrait.

November 1, 2020

Alpsten's debut reimagines the other Catherine--Catherine Alexeyevna, wife of Peter the Great, who took over the empire after her husband's death in 1725 (and his torture and murder of his son, the heir apparent). The 100,000-copy first printing bespeaks in-house confidence.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2020
Catherine Alexeyevna progressed from humble origins as a serf to become Catherine I, Empress of all the Russias. The first woman to rule Russia in her own right, she was the second wife of Peter the Great, a man whose legacy of modernizing Russia in the early eighteenth century is well-documented in popular culture. Lesser known is the sometimes bloody story of the more than twenty years Catherine spent coddling, supporting, and challenging him. Alpsten's debut relates a compelling, if unverified, story of Catherine's early years before she entered Peter's orbit. Once married, Catherine bore him twelve children, only two of whom lived to adulthood. She traveled with him to war fronts. She was a constant in his life through successes, failures, and numerous mistresses. She was the one person who could soothe his rages and return him to reason. Illuminating the realities of life in premodern Russia and the growth and changes brought about in the Petrine Era, this is a fascinating and extraordinary ride from slavery to royalty. Fiction about real people appeals to readers who like history and also like to listen in on conversations. Offer this to fans of historical fiction, Russia, political intrigue, and powerful women.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020

COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.