Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie business hiding his “6ft 2in frame”

hiding his “6ft 2in frame” in an oak tree with “Roundheads truffling beneath”

stumbled into one disaster after another

who “dreaded being dragged” before the divorce court

In Salman Rushdie’s latest novel

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie business hiding his “6ft 2in frame”The extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most powerful women in history. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned