Catherine the Great

"Catherine the Great" by Katharine Susan Anthony is a historical biography written in the early 20th century. It follows the transformation of Sophie “Fike” of Anhalt-Zerbst into Catherine II against a vivid backdrop of Prussian austerity and Russian court turmoil. The focus blends intimate childhood formation with high political intrigue, showing how a little-known German princess was drawn into the orbit of the Romanov dynasty. The opening of the biography sketches Stettin’s harsh, militarized world and introduces Fike’s parents: a frugal, pious Prussian general and an ambitious, socially hungry Holstein-Gottorp princess. It traces Fike’s neglected yet formative upbringing under the clear-eyed French governess Babet Cardel and the dogmatic Pastor Wagner; her plain looks, calculated self-discipline, and skepticism; and a bout of illness that led to a crude but effective “cure,” shaping her lifelong distrust of doctors. The narrative widens to a brisk survey of Russian power: from Peter the Great’s violent genius and the country’s distinct moral climate to the female-dominated succession culminating in Elisabeth Petrovna’s dazzling coup. Elisabeth adopts her sickly nephew (the future Peter III), whose botched Holstein education and arrested development are laid bare. Finally, court politics converge on Fike: the Empress quietly selects her as a bride, secures church approval, brushes aside medical cautions, and dispatches urgent letters summoning mother and daughter— pointedly excluding the father—prompting tense family debate and a hasty, modestly provisioned departure for Russia.