Mémoires de l'Impératrice Catherine II. Écrits par elle-même

In this intimate memoir, Catherine the Great opens a window onto the making of one of Russia’s most formidable rulers. She recounts the restless energy of her teenage years, the precarious marriage to the Grand Duke, and the moment a courtier’s warning sent her imagination soaring toward a distant throne. The voice is candid, often playful, as she sketches the personalities and intrigues that surrounded the young duchess at the winter palace.

Listeners will hear how the young princess, already enamoured with the idea of power, navigated family expectations, whispered conspiracies, and the allure of foreign courts. Her observations weave together personal anecdotes with the broader currents of Enlightenment thought that were reshaping Europe. The memoir offers a rare, first‑person glimpse of the formative experiences that later defined her legendary reign.