Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

Tsarina tells the fascinating story of Empress Catherine, second wife of Peter the Great of Russia. Catherine rose from being a serf on the edges of poverty, to a reasonably comfortable servant in a Lutheran pastor’s household, to mistress, wife and eventually Empress to Tsar Peter, to Empress Regnant after Peter’s death.

If I hadn’t known that it was based on a true story before I started reading, I would have found several of the plot beats verging on the unbelievable. A simple peasant girl, with no education, no pedigree and nothing really to recommend her apart from her beauty, not only catching the eye of the Tsar of Russia (which is still plausible since the novel makes it clear he had a roving eye and did not like to sleep alone), but engaging him enough to keep his interest over years and eventually convert it to an official marriage, and all this despite not having a living son (the need for an heir being of paramount importance to kings and tsars alike)? Sounds ridiculous. But the broad beats of the story are established facts and lay the foundations for a remarkable story.

The book starts off well, pulling you into the story quickly as it fleshes out Catherine’s life prior to her fortuitous meeting with Peter. She is introduced as a feisty, likeable character, with a realistic, if limited, view of the world and her place in it. She doesn’t bemoan her misfortunes but largely accepts her lot in life and appreciates the few things of value in her life, namely her family. However, fate has other plans for her, and she is soon sold off to a richer landlord. You could possibly argue that she is a somewhat passive character with events happening to her and her actions being shaped by a combination of luck and others. However, given the time period, it is a fairly believable depiction of how little agency a servant had, with often times death being the only escape from their master’s whims. Even her eventual good fortune, which leads her to a comfortable albeit loveless marriage to a Swedish soldier, showcases how little choice a woman had in those days, and further highlights Catherine’s ability to overcome life’s disappointments and make the best of what’s thrown at her. Yes, there is a healthy dose of good luck required at critical junctures to move the story forward but given that it is based on the actual ascent of a commoner to Empress of Russia, I can easily believe that luck had a big role to play in real life as well. 

The novel ultimately fails once the action shifts to the Russian court. I expected a tale of palace intrigue and courtly machinations and to see Catherine develop her political acumen and evolve into an expert navigator of these deadly waters. Or at the very least, to get an understanding of how she became such a key figure in Peter’s life, important enough for him to entrust her to carry on his legacy. Was she able to turn her commoner status to her advantage to provide a different perspective as Peter tried to bring about a new, enlightened Russia? Did Peter inspire a passion in her for his pet causes? Or did she simply present a calculated face to him, telling him what he wanted to hear?

However, Catherine, Peter and other key figures at court come across as flat and two-dimensional. The novel goes into detail on their partying ways while skimming over the political aspects of the court, preferring to tell rather than show what the characters are doing so that we do not truly get to understand what motivates them. For instance, we are told repeatedly about Peter wanting to modernize Russia and there are some mentions sprinkled through the novel of the changes themselves as well as some opposition to the changes. But since this is left largely undeveloped, we never get a real sense of how Peter manages to push through his agenda and why he is such a beloved figure. Instead, he comes across as a capricious, tyrannical figure who lives to wage war and party, with little consideration for others. While this may have been true, we never delve deeper to understand how these sides of him fit in with the political savvy he undoubtedly did possess in order to hold on to power and push through the changes that he did. I understand the novel is from Catherine’s point of view and she may not necessarily have been privy to a lot of what was going on behind the scenes, but it feels like a missed opportunity. Perhaps still something that could be overlooked if the novel had delivered greater insights into the complexity of Catherine’s character and her relationship with Peter. But there too I was left wanting.

I am truly perplexed at what drove Peter’s dependence on Catherine. We are told that theirs is a great love, deep enough for him to ignore public disapproval and the benefits of a more politically advantageous match. And yet what made Catherine so different from all his other affairs? She is a comforting presence, and practical enough to turn a blind eye to the other women in his life, but was that a strong enough pull? Based on the novel alone, I’m not convinced. Later in the novel, another milestone event occurs when Peter makes Catherine Empress, in large part because he believes that she will carry on his work and cement his legacy after his death. But again, there is little in the novel to support that her political convictions are aligned to his, either truly or superficially, or that she has the clout at court to overcome any opposition and carry on his work.

There are moments in the novel where she is shown as a source of strength for Peter, most notably after his defeat to Turkey and after the death of his son. And also times when she displays a slyness and an ability to manipulate events to remove rivals to her position – early on, when she turns the table on the Tsar’s established mistress, and later when she disposes of Maria Cantemir, who was trying to pull an Anne Boleyn style coup. But it feels a bit disconnected. I would have also loved to see those aspects of Catherine evidenced beyond her immediate personal affairs so that the interludes, which deal with the immediate aftermath of Peter’s death and Catherine’s struggle to retain power, make more sense within the context of the person we’ve read about, rather than the actions of a completely different character.

All in all, a reasonably enjoyable read – the prose succeeds in drawing you in and the narrative flows quickly. However, the promise of the first half is somewhat let down by the limited character development in the second half. If you’re looking for a story that dives deeper into the political machinations and reforms of that time, then this is probably not the book for you. But if you’re looking for a light read that introduces you to an intriguing woman in Russian history, then this is just the ticket.