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The Winter Palace A Novel of Catherine the Great Eva Stachniak Books

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The Winter Palace A Novel of Catherine the Great Eva Stachniak Books

I love historical fiction, and the fact that a book uses the perspective of a woman doesn't bother me; the same could be said of the "fly on the wall" approach to historical fiction. For example, I'm a big fan of Margaret George and some of Phillippa Gregory's books. However, this one was just a bit too much of both, and I found it a bit hard to take. Oh, it's written well enough and not at all hard to read, but I found myself longing for a scene in an 18th-century man cave or the like. The history is fascinating, and on balance it's worth reading, but it's a bit too chic-litty for me.


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The Winter Palace A Novel of Catherine the Great Eva Stachniak Books Reviews

What I did not know about this period of Russian history, that was a lot , I learned reading this book. the life in the royal palace, the treatment of the young Catherine, her struggles to become important within the hierarchy, The intrigue among all the good and bad people surrounding her. The problems she encountered in living arrangements within the palace. It just went on and on and yet she survived and she won and became the queen and that was where the book ended. her life and struggles before becoming the queen of Russia were amazing.
This is an excellently written novel about Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, told from the first person point of view of a palace maid, Varvara, a fictional character from Poland. After being orphaned, Varvara becomes a ward of the Empress Elizabeth of Russia where she is forgotten about within the Winter Palace until she is discovered by the Chancellor as a potentially good spy. He trains her to spy for him and the Empress, who places her in an ideal position as a maid to her nephew, the Grand Duke and heir to the Russian throne, but when Catherine (initially known as Sophie) arrives to be married to the Grand Duke, Varvara's loyalties are thrown into question.

This is as much Varvara's story as it is Catherine's and truth be told, Catherine is absent for portions of the novel and yet, that doesn't detract from the story. It's so well written and the characters are so well developed that the fictional plot lines are every bit as interesting as the historical ones and only add dimension to the story. However, for those disppointed that the focal point was not more centered on Catherine, the sequel Empress of the Night is told from Catherine's point of view.

From Varvara's point of view, Catherine seemed a little whiny and immature at times, though she would have been in her 20s by the time the scene I'm thinking of in particular would have occured. In fact, Catherine's character sort of regresses; in the beginning, she is shrewed and cautious but as the book goes on, she becomes reckless and immature. I think this was an attempt to show how unhappy she became in the situation she was in and how she reached a point when she just didn't care anymore about the things which she previously thought of the utmost importance.

For a spy novel, the politics sometimes take a back seat to the court gossip but I think it's important to remember that during this time period, court intrigue and politics were so often linked.

I was surprised to learn the author is Polish, because this is so well written in English, I can't believe that it's not the author's first language. It really brings the scenes to life and forms the characters so well, it was hard to put down and I look forward to the sequel.
I'm not sure what made me choose this book as our August book club selection, but I am so glad I did! I have read other reviews that were not so great, mostly because those readers were expecting a story about Catherine the Great, and this is not exactly that. This story is told form the perspective of Barbara (Varvara in Russian) , a young Polish girl who is orphaned and rises to prominence in the court of Empress Elizabeth as a spy or a "tongue" first for the Chancellor of Russia and then for the Empress herself. She befriends Catherine when she is brought to the palace as Sophie, a young girl of 14 who is to be betrothed to the Empress' nephew, Peter, the next ruler of Russia. The story chronicles Catherine's change from a scared girl to a powerful force, and lets the reader see- through Varvara's eyes- Catherine's marriage, her lovers, her pregnancies, her triumphs and disappointments and her ultimate rise to power, The book is as much about Varvara as it is about Catherine, as their destinies are intertwined throughout the book. I loved this story and cannot wait for the sequel, which promises to be more about Catherine's reign.
The Winter Palace weaves a tale a deceit, spies, and the gossip amid the Russian Court. A bookbinder's daughter, Barbara, finds herself a spy for the Empress although befriending the Grand Duchess, Catherine, married to the Empress' nephew, heir to the Russian Throne. Our spy finds herself the ear and tongue of the Grand Duchess, even becoming close friends. But once Catherine is crowned Empress can Barbara trust in Catherine's friendship?

I couldn't put the book down. I've been enthralled with Catherine the Great and I found this book to be refreshing in its storytelling while sharing this historical period in Russia. I happily recommend this book to other avid readers and historical junkies, like myself.
I really didn't care for Stachniak's writing. Often,I would read pages of what I thought was leading up to a point of significance in the story, then the author would change the character,, subject, or setting. I would have to reread the paragraph to realize that it wasn't of importance and the subject has changed. I enjoy historical novels because I can escape into a different time while gaining insight as to how life was back in that time. There was very little information that I learned from this book, this is more like reading a soap opera. Some author's will carry me into a period of time and allow me to feel and understand the thoughts of the characters, while my senses of hearing, smell, and sight are involved. The characters in this book are poorly developed. Don't waste your time or money.
I love historical fiction, and the fact that a book uses the perspective of a woman doesn't bother me; the same could be said of the "fly on the wall" approach to historical fiction. For example, I'm a big fan of Margaret George and some of Phillippa Gregory's books. However, this one was just a bit too much of both, and I found it a bit hard to take. Oh, it's written well enough and not at all hard to read, but I found myself longing for a scene in an 18th-century man cave or the like. The history is fascinating, and on balance it's worth reading, but it's a bit too chic-litty for me.