Henri Troyat Libri

By delving into the life of Catherine the Great, this acclaimed biographer reveals the rich tapestry of Russia’s past, giving insight into the paradoxical character of its people and their stunning evolution from feudalism to communism to their present-day struggle for a free-market democracy. This is history as it is rarely written today—elegant, witty, dramatic, and with an intimate knowledge of its characters. And what better subject for a biography than one of history's most powerful women, the German-born Russian empress whose adopted language and culture were French, and whose most loyal correspondents were Voltaire and Diderot? Troyat details the various lives of Catherine II: the ambitious child, the acquiescent yet firm grand duchess, the forceful politician and patron of the arts, the belligerent war maker, and the doting grandparent. “A remarkable woman . . . A riveting book.”—Mary Renault “Brilliantly captures one of the most colorful figures of all time.”—Doubleday Book Club News

Ivan IV, the first Grand Duke of Moscow to take the title Czar, was one of the most violent and demented rulers in history. Both sadist and mystic, he claimed to be both the blood successor to Caesar Augustus and God¿s vicar on earth. Devoted associates and sworn enemies alike perished amid hideous tortures. Villages, towns and an entire city were obliterated; he even murdered his own son in a burst of fury. And yet, by conquering much of the territory that became 20th century Russia, he also forged an orderly empire out of the barbarous and disordered world into which he was born. Henri Troyat, the Prix Goncourt ¿winning biographer of Catherine the Great, Tolstoy, Turgenev and other giants of Russian history brings to life Russia¿s bloodiest czar creating the unforgettable portrait of a man driven mad with the delirium of his divine right to power.

The biography explores the complex life of Alexander, a grandson of Catherine the Great, who was celebrated in Europe as a liberator yet feared at home as an oppressive ruler. It delves into his contradictions as a conspirator in his father's assassination and an idealist at the Congress of Vienna, highlighting his struggle between liberal aspirations and the harsh realities of autocratic governance in Russia. Henri Troyat provides a compelling portrait of Alexander against the backdrop of a transformative era in European history.

This book is a vivid account of life in Moscow, "the most Russian of Russian cities," in the year 1903, a year before Russia's disastrous war with Japan and two years before the momentous Revolution of 1905. Though the undercurrents of social change were running swiftly, the surface stability of the Tsarist regime show no indication of the turmoil ahead. The author, who is perhaps best known for his biography Tolstoy, describes Russian life through the eyes of a fictional young Englishman visiting a prosperous Russian merchant family. All facets of Moscow life are covered, from entertainment and night life to family life and the devotions of the Orthodox. We learn about Russia's factory workers and peasants, its soldiers and lawyers, its priests and its city officials, its Tsar and his entourage: what they do and what they wear, what they think and what they dream. Concluding chapters take our visitor to the famous fair at Nizhny-Novgorod, which was held every year from July 15 to September 10, and on a boat trip down the Volga.