The Winter Palace cover art

The Winter Palace

A novel of the young Catherine the Great

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The Winter Palace

By: Eva Stachniak
Narrated by: Beata Pozniak
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When Vavara, a young orphaned Polish girl, is brought to serve at Empress Elizabeth's glittering, dangerous court in St Petersburg, she is schooled by the Chancellor himself in skills from lock-picking to love-making, learning above all else to stay silent - and listen. Soon, she is Elizabeth's 'tongue' - her secret eyes and ears.

Then Sophie, a vulnerable young princess, arrives from Prussia as a prospective bride for Elizabeth's heir. Set to spy on her by the Empress, Vavara soon becomes her friend and confidante, and helps her navigate the illicit seductions and the treacherous shifting allegiances of the court.But Sophie's destiny is to become the notorious Catherine the Great. Are her ambitions more lofty and far-reaching than anyone suspected, and will she stop at nothing to achieve absolute power?

 Fiction Historical Fiction Russia Inspiring Royalty
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Critic reviews

Riveting... Stachniak has uncovered a treasure trove of rich material... The real core of Stachniak's tale is that [Catherine and Elizabeth] are women... Casts light over recent Russian history too, which is exactly what historical fiction should do (Jane Smiley)
A wonderful novel, riven with intrigue and startling details, the sort to savour on a long winter evening
The kind of big busty read that sends you back to the history books
Extraordinarily absorbing... will have you on the edge of your seat
A wonderful tale of the Imperial Russia court in all its glittering glory. Eva Stachniak vividly brings to life the early years of the meek young bride who would become the terrifying, fascinating Catherine the Great (Kate Williams, author of England's Mistress and Becoming Queen)
Fantastic, bold, colourful, assured and wonderful writing - and what a story! An outstanding book, magical, beautiful with writing as crisp and fine and breathtaking as a Russian winter (Manda Scott, author of the Boudica trilogy)
Luxuriant... baroque and intimate, worldly and domestic, wildly strange and soulfully familiar
A whirlwind saga of intrigue, shifting allegiances and illicit liaisons, this engrossing story really captures the imagination
A wonderfully majestic and evocative tale of 18th century Russia at a key moment in history
An intensely written, intensely felt saga of the early years that shaped the 18th century's famous czarina, Catherine the Great. Her survival in the treachery of the Russian court was an amazing feat, and Eva Stachniak captures the fluidity and steeliness that propelled Catherine from a lowly German duchess to one of the towering figures of the century (Karleen Koen, author of Through a Glass Darkly)
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A beautifully told story, rich in detail. I'm always fascinated by political intriguing and this is basically the whole premise of the story. I struggled a little due to the complexity of the names but the central characters are the only ones that really matter.

The narrator takes a wee while to get used to - her accent, intonation and pausing isn't what I'd normally expect and it almost put me off but once you tune in it adds to the beauty of the story.

Captivating and beautiful

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If you could sum up The Winter Palace in three words, what would they be?

Fantastic story set amongst the lavish Russian aristocracy

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book, as a previous review said, stick with the narrator because the accent will add to the story bringing with it a feel of actually listening to Varvara telling the story. The ficklness of the Empress and the Naivety of the young Catherine when she enters the Russian arena are good contrasts and it was good to see how she developed and grew. Such a wonderful story.

Great Story, Interesting Setting...

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I read this years ago and enjoyed it so listening made a change. The narrator corrected some pronunciation I had got wrong when I originally read it. I love this story of intrigues.

the narrator

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