“To prove to [her friend, Swedish diplomat Count] Gyllenborg that she was not superficial, Catherine composed an essay about herself, "so that he would see whether I knew myself or not." The next day, she wrote and handed to Gyllenborg… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
“I used to say to myself that happiness and misery depend on ourselves. If you feel unhappy, rise above it and act so that… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
Four of my children are daughters, and I've watched them devote themselves to reading books about how little girls learn to become women -… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
“For twenty years, Peter had been playing with soldiers; first toys, then boys, then grown men. His games had grown from drills involving a… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
“Charles arrived around eight a.m. with a squadron of Drabants and began riding along the bank at the water’s edge to inspect the men and their positions. Some of the Russians from the force which had been driven back remained on one of the numerous islands in midstream, and they began to fire at the party of Swedish officers across… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
“Books were her refuge. Having set herself to learn the Russian language, she read every Russian book she could find. But French was the… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
“In January in Northern Russia, everything vanishes beneath a deep blanket of whiteness. Rivers, fields, trees, roads, and houses disappear, and the landscape becomes a white sea of mounds and hollows. On days when the sky is gray, it is hard to see where earth merges with air. On brilliant days when the sky is a rich blue, the sunlight… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
“Why Lenin triumphed, why Nicholas failed, why Alexandra placed the fate of her son, her husband and his empire in the hands of a… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
“This marriage had resulted from impulse: he had seen her on a high-flying swing at Tsarkoe Selo and her skirt, flared by the breeze,… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share Image
“To prove to [her friend, Swedish diplomat Count] Gyllenborg that she was not superficial, Catherine composed an essay about herself, "so that he would see whether I knew myself or not." The next day, she wrote and handed to Gyllenborg an essay titled 'Portrait of a Fifteen-Year-Old Philosopher.' He was impressed and returned it with a dozen pages of comments,… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
“She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character. During the coup, she had shown determination and courage; once on the throne, she displayed an open mind, willingness to forgive, and a political morality founded on rationality and practical efficiency. She softened imperial presence with a sense of humor and a quick tongue; indeed, with Catherine more than… — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
“Don't worry. Don't worry. The Devil does none of these things. He neither smokes nor drinks nor engages in revelry, and yet he is The Devil. --Father Vasiliev, confessor to the Russian Imperial Family” — Robert K. Massie Copy Share
