Catherine Novels Resources

Empress of the Night: questions for Book Clubs

Posted by Eva on Nov 17, 2014

Empress of the Night is my second novel of Catherine the Great. The first one, The Winter Palace told Catherine’s story from the point of view of a place spy. Empress of the Night, written in close third person (which means that the reader sees the world through the eyes of the novel’s principal character) lets the Empress of Russia herself tell her own story.

Here are some questions to stimulate a discussion on the novel:

Does a woman ruler face different challenges than a man? What are they?

Is a woman ruler judged more harshly than a man?

The Cast of Characters: Empress of the Night

Posted by Eva on Apr 5, 2014

In response to many of your requests. here are the main characters of Catherine’s court who appear in Empress of the Night.

Writing Historical Novels

Posted by Eva on Jan 15, 2013

As soon as I knew that I wanted to write a novel about Catherine the Great, I gave myself three months to do extensive research on the historical Catherine and the period in which she lived. I started with Catherine’s biographies, both recent and older ones, downloading 18th and 19th century books into my e-reader, taking advantage of the fact that old rare books are being extensively digitized and made available through major library portals. I read scholarly articles on various aspects of Catherine’s reign, her political conquests, her art collection, her gardening. I also read her own writing: memoirs and numerous letters which have preserved her voice from different stages of her life.

Writing The Winter Palace: Inspiration

Posted by Eva on Sep 30, 2011

I am often asked about the inspiration for “The Winter Palace.”

I am Canadian, but I am also Polish and in the Polish consciousness, Catherine the Great has always held a prominent place. This powerful and enigmatic woman whose love life intrigues and shocks generation after generation has crushed Poland and changed the course of her history.

I was drawn to Catherine for some time. Like me, she is an immigrant who had to re-invent herself, a German princess who came to Russia when she was fourteen. She is a powerful woman who survived and triumphed in a misogynous world and her presence towered over the eighteenth century Europe, the time I find irresistible.