Author: ellenalpsten

“Makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme.” –Daisy Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter “[Alpsten] recounts this remarkable woman’s colourful life and times.” –Count Nikolai Tolstoy, historian and author Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten’s rich, sweeping debut … to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten’s rich, sweeping debut novel is the story of her rise to power. St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of…