We join the Blog Tour for Tsarina, the most powerful woman history ever forgot.
Tsarina – the blurb
Spring 1699: Illegitimate, destitute and strikingly beautiful, Marta has survived the brutal Russian winter in her remote Baltic village. Sold by her family into household labor at the age of fifteen, Marta survives by committing a crime that will force her to go on the run.
A world away, Russia’s young ruler, Tsar Peter I, passionate and iron-willed, has a vision for transforming the traditionalist Tsardom of Russia into a modern, Western empire. Countless lives will be lost in the process.
Falling prey to the Great Northern War, Marta cheats death at every turn, finding work as a washerwoman at a battle camp. One night at a celebration, she encounters Peter the Great. Relying on her wits and her formidable courage, and fueled by ambition, desire and the sheer will to live, Marta will become Catherine I of Russia. But her rise to the top is ridden with peril; how long will she survive the machinations of Peter’s court, and more importantly, Peter himself?
What a woman
The tag line on the book states ‘the most powerful woman history forgot’ and boy does this hit the nail on the head. I had never heard of Catherine I of Russia but what a woman! The fascinating life she lived with its many ups and downs sparks instant interest. Alpsten adds to this by delivering such a colourful, vivid account of the time. The food is sumptuous, many a time I felt hungry after reading a paragraph of the divine dining. The clothes were luxurious – these were people literally dripping in diamonds. Catherine is a woman who suffers terrible hardships yet always, by the skin of her teeth, lands on her feet.
Drink and be merry
Everyone knows the cliche about Russians and their vodka and Tsarina does little to rebut this. I can only imagine the hangovers these poor souls must have had. The level of debauchery is truly stunning. It really was a time where if you were in power and could imagine it you could build/buy it.
Whilst the book is squarely about Catherine, Tsar Peter I must be mentioned. The Great Northern War and his building of St Petersburgh are topics I haven’t read about previously yet this glimpse in to the East was fascinating. Despite this nothing distracts from the simple tale of washer woman turned Empress of Russia. It’s a fairy tale, with none of the fairy godmothers but plenty of glass slippers. It’s gritty, it’s full of sex and it’s utterly readable.
Thanks
My thanks go to Bloomsbury alongside Random Things Tours for a copy of Tsarina in exchange for an honest review. It’s a stonking read for fans of historical fiction about a woman you may not have previously come across before. It makes a refreshing change from Henry and his multiple wives.
