This book gave an interesting look at Russian history in an unsettled time. The writing was excellent and the characters well developed. It was difficult to always follow the story because of the jumps in time and numerous characters. I found it difficult to finish because towards the end it felt to heavy and tedious. I received a free copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

Tsarina is the story of Catherine the 1st, the 2nd wife of Peter the 1st.An intense story following Catherine, born Marta, from vry humble beginnings, being sold by her family, and eventually being noticed by Peter 1 to become his second wife. Life was not easy even then but, she become a leader in her own right at a time when it was very hard for women to do so. I confess to not knowing as much about Russian history as some, but, this book was wonderfully written, intense and kept me engaged. There are some troubling scenes some readers might not care for such as rape so I am just letting you know ahead of time.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC for review.

This is a book full of interesting tidbits about the life of a great empress. Well, not really. It is a book about the life up to the point of becoming a real empress. Alpsten's prose made me lean into it. Even the harsh parts of rape and violence.

The beginning of Catherine I's life is created. Alpsten mentions that in the beginning. Nothing is truly known about the washermaid of Russia until her appearance as the servant of a Russian noble. Then Peter becomes attracted to her. Much of their life is with her as his mistress/companion. Alpsten has drawn a character portrait of Catherine as dedicated to Peter as any wife up until certain events.

But Catherine is not free of flaws. I appreciated that Alpsten allowed us to see what might have been the true face of this immensely overlooked royal figure. Too many focus on the second Catherine--the one they called Great.

We see into the royal life through the eyes of a woman not born to royalty but determined to do her best in the position she finds herself in.

The book bounces back and forth between timelines so you do need to pay attention. I was eager to learn what happened after Peter died, but the story ended there. I was supremely disappointed as I wanted to know more about her as the ruling Empress of Russia. Perhaps Alpsten will pursue that part of this great woman's life.

All in all, I'd have to give this four stars. It did cause me to tell my husband to leave me in quiet because I was reading a very good book.

An excellent book at first I thought this was about Catherine the Great but was about Peter the Great’s wife. The detail surrounding him and the building of St. Petersburg was very interesting. The going back and forth between past and Marta’s present was a bit disjointed but I found the book on the whole fascinating.

I only made it through the first 15 chapters of this book. There were some inconsistencies in the story and some unnecessary details that made it difficult to focus on what could be a great sgory. In all honesty, I was reading an uncorrected ARC of this novel. I hope they issues are corrected before publishing. I may attempt to re-read this at a later date.

This was the description [part of it] I read prior to requesting: Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right.... Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself.... From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire." {Perhaps "sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy" should have sounded the warning.]

OK. I have loved reading about Imperial Russia since Nicholas and Alexandra [1967]. And, I'm a fan of historical fiction, BUT.

Plus, the original cover [which I've tried unsuccessfully to copy] was much more conducive to my reading this book than the one I later saw --basically two large breasts--yes, you can judge a book by a cover].

I so wanted historical fiction, not the bust or thrust--which was far too frequent--where was the history?! Too much of a soap opera. And too many moments where I just knew it would spiral downward.

What did I like? The instances where I learned something--e.g., the building of St Petersburg. The court intrigues and dramas. The descriptions of the palaces [I've been to Peterhof, the Amber Room, and the Catherine Palace.] The settings of Moscow and St, Petersburg. Not nearly enough,

This book was not at all what I expected--or wanted. If this is what you want--somewhat of a bodice ripper--go for it. I agonized over what to rate, 3? But then one might be inclined to read it. I'd say no. Much unrealized potential, So, 2.5, but not rounding up.

From where she ended up I would have never imagined what Catherine Alexeyevna, then Marta endured growing up. The story paints the harsh reality for a young, beautiful peasant woman in the time that is heartbreaking and horrifying. However in doing so I gained a respect and love for her that couldn't have been forged on an easier path. Still, the hardships piled on so heavy I feared she would surely break. One after the other, abuse, loss, hopelessness, and yet, she wasn't hopeless. There is a turning point in her thoughts that occurs when her path crosses with a Russian general who gives her a piece of advice that she takes to heart. While things are still not easy, there is change and the feel of the story also shifts as you are taken from poverty to another side of life in those times.

Catherine Alexeyevna's life is a story I wasn't aware of in a historical sense, so can't attest to any accuracies but judging it just as a story, it is gripping and will tug you through a range of emotions as you discovery the epic life of a woman who refused to be held down by her circumstances or beaten by the cruelty of the monsters that are men.

Highly recommended.

Please note this story doesn't shy away from abuse and might trigger more sensitive readers.

Tsarina tells of love, betrayal, and power through the life of Catherine Alexeyevna rising up through the ranks of Russia.

Catherine Alexeyevna who was born as Marta, grew up hardworking and a survivor in her small village in Russia, battling brutal winters and her harsh stepmother.

When she was 15 years old she was sold, but from there, she had to work hard to rise up through the tough situations that she had to deal with. But, with having to deal with people who wanted to bring her down throughout her life trying to bring her down, she became the stronger more powerful one to dominate and fight her way through her enemies.

I gave Tsarina three stars. I loved the historical fiction aspect of this story and really enjoyed learning more about Russia’s reign and about Catherine Alexeyevna and the way there was the detail of the way Catherine grew up and became successful in her own way.

There are definite graphic scenes that I did not realize until reading this but while I took into account that there would most likely be scenes in the book, I definitely was not expecting it.

Some things that I liked were the way Catherine was independent. She grew up needing to do things on her own most of the time and was treated differently because she was born through an affair. The men she met most likely treated her poorly so she had to deal with many things on her own. She was very strong and powerful and for most parts didn’t let the men that she met get in the way of her hard work.

While I do not know a lot about Russia’s history, I did enjoy learning about the Tsar Peter and the way he was dominant and fought battles and did not take anything from anyone. He was a cruel man who did things his own way and had no toleration for people who disagreed with him.

The way Catherine’s 12 pregnancies were written out and the rise and fail of when Catherine and Peter were Tsar and Tsarina was filled with drama and betrayal that it definitely made me more interested.

But with Tsarina I found that it didn’t captivate me as much as I would have liked. It seemed as if it dragged on a little too long even though it was about Catherine’s life. I felt like it wasn’t pulling me into the story as much and even though I enjoyed the historical context very much, I felt disconnected from the rest of the story.

I still enjoyed most of it though and loved the way Catherine rose up to the ranks to become successful and powerful.

Please do be aware of graphic scenes in the book.

Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love historical fiction, but don’t know much about Russia’s history or leaders. This book was absolutely amazing. I am not sure how true any of the life events were, but it didn’t matter because I could not put this book down. The multiple traumas endured by Marta seemed never ending and her resiliency was astounding. I don’t know if I would have the strength to go on after just one of the horrible events she suffered and although her tragedy seemed to continue, she never gave up. From a washer maid to Tsarina, Empress of Russia. My only regret is not having read this sooner.

“In a few hours I might be either dead, or wishing I was dead, or I’d be the most powerful woman in all the Russias.”

The particulars of history are often lost to time, but thankfully we have authors like Ellen Alpsten, who come along centuries later and make the past new again. Tsarina is the story of Marta Skowronska, a young peasant who grew up in the Baltics in the late 1600s. But you may know her by another name: Catherine I, the second wife of Peter I and the first woman to rule Russia in her own right.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

“My beloved husband, the mighty tsar of all the Russias, has died—and just in time.” And so the story begins in the hours following Peter the Great’s death, and the question of succession hangs in the air like rainclouds. But before we learn the fate of the empire, we’re taken back to the Spring of 1699 when Catherine was simply Marta—a beauty born to a washerwoman out of wedlock, and accustomed to a life of hard labor.

If there’s one salient theme in Marta’s life, it’s that beauty is both a blessing and a curse. While bathing in the local stream with her sister, she catches the eye of a greedy German merchant, Vassily, and she's suddenly ripped from the only life she's ever known. He buys her from her family, and she goes to live as a maid at his large estate. Vassily rapes Marta repeatedly, until one night she kills him and runs away. [Warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.] Still, Marta constantly finds herself at the whims of men.

“I saw understanding in Sheremetev’s eyes. ‘Being born as a girl is a punishment.’”

​After fleeing to a faraway village, penniless and alone, she’s taken in by a family and given a position as a maid. Their handsome son seduces Marta with promises of marriage, impregnates her, and then betrays her by leaving and getting engaged to a woman with higher status. Marta marries a soldier, but he soon dies in the seemingly perpetual war that plagues surrounds them.

Marta’s life is upended once again when she is violently assaulted in the war-ravaged streets, and a Russian general intervenes and brings her back to the army camp. She’s claimed as a spoil of war by Menshekov, the tsar’s own right-hand man, and becomes a maid within this elite inner circle. Marta’s life and body are not her own, but rather treated as possessions to be claimed and bartered by men.

.“See your power over men like a hand of cards; play them, to trump your life.”

Marta decides to take advantage of her new position among Russia's most powerful and wealthy, and starts forging strategic friendships. It’s not long before she catches the eye of the Peter himself, and becomes the most beloved mistress of the Tsar of all Russias.

Over the course of two decades, we see Marta’s gradual transformation into Catherine—these decades are filled with war, heartbreak, and death, punctuated by brief glimpses of love and light in between. I thought Alpsten painted a portrait of Catherine as a deeply empathetic, kind, and down-to-earth character. I’ve read other historical fiction novels that center around royal courts, and the ambition and scandal that powers them. Catherine stood out to me as a character because she never aspired to rule a kingdom, only to survive. Marta was content with a roof over her head, food in her belly, and a life of labor—she stumbled upon her life, upon Catherine’s life, by chance.
​
I think this is precisely why Peter—who is generally rash and fickle—loves her and keeps her by his side until his death. Even though she was a born a peasant and is mocked throughout European courts for it, Peter defends her position and makes her his wife. She in turn brings out his better nature and shields those closest to him from his bouts of anger.

“I am only a human being when you are with me. If you ever leave, or forsake me, I am but an animal.”

But her new life is far from perfect. Peter’s eyes roam and he contracts syphilis from one of the dozens of women he sleeps with. Catherine also gives birth to 12 children, but most of them die young. None of their sons, which Peter so desperately wants, survives. After so much loss, Catherine learns to keep herself closed off. “Peter mourned with me, but I knew that in his heart of hearts he was relieved that it was but a daughter that we buried,” she laments.

When Alexey, Peter’s son from his first marriage, betrays him, Catherine witnesses a cruel streak in Peter she’s never seen before. She’s disgusted by his brutality and a piece of her heart retreats from him forever. But the long years in Peter’s company have also made Catherine more cunning, and we see her go to extreme lengths to protect her legacy as well.

Despite the mistakes, betrayals, and cruelties lying between them, Catherine is at Peter’s side until the very end, with declarations of love on their lips. We see a glimpse of the Peter that Catherine loved—not the one who was vilified by history books, but a vulnerable, lonely ruler who wants to be loved.

I finished this book with a heavy heart, but in that sense I think the author succeeded in telling Catherine’s story. Ultimately, Alpsten wove a vivid and heart-wrenching tale of what it meant to be a woman in Peter’s Russia—of being forced to submit your life to forces beyond your control, and then rising up and to take control.

“Can one love such a despot? No. But a man, who also happens to be the tsar? The tsarina had made her choice.”

I just watched Hulu's THE GREAT and this is such an interesting historical work to accompany the show. While the show plays fast and loose with history by satire, this book is a must read for those who wish to learn the truth about the first Catherine of Russia.

From the very beginning, Tsarina takes no prisoners and throws no punches. Marta, the future tsarina, is a serf bought and sold and abused in ways that are casually written in the way that this was a casual act in her time. She knows little happiness in teenage years, but chance circumstances and finally a stroke of good fortune put her in front of the tsar of Russia, Peter. Lest you think there is a fairy tale romance and a happy ending, Alpsten instead presents a realistic story of just how perilous the life of someone even as high as a consort, and later a wife can be. Peter is erratic, arrogant, whimsical and adulterous, yet Marta, now Catherine, has learned just exactly what he needs and expects. Walking a tightrope between his wild mood swings, plotting women, war and the heartbreak and joy of children Catherine does everything she can to maintain her position in the world. And who can blame her when she's fully aware of what it means to have nothing? This book is gritty, brutal and at some points hard to read, but is a fascinating look at two people in Peter and Catherine that is often rarely heard about.

Compelling and eminently readable from the first page to the last, Ellen Alpsten‘s novel Tsarina offers a fascinating glimpse into the life, heart, and mind, of Marta, a lowly, illegitimate serf who rose to become the wife of Peter the Great and a tsarina in her own right. Marta, whom Peter re-names Catherine, serves as the novel’s first person narrator, sharing her fascinating story and enabling the reader to experience the life of a woman whose very survival depended on her wits, beauty, as well as a lot of luck and fortuitous chance. Tsarina is a must-read for any reader who enjoys a good story!

Historical fiction gives the author a lot of leeway when describing daily activities of characters. In this story of Tsar Peter of Russia, a man is portrayed who is a brutal leader, takes what he wants, when he wants it. Marta is a young woman who through a series of brutal events, becomes Catherine, Tsarina of all Russia. I’m sure the author researched thoroughly, and that the facts regarding people and places are correct. I can only hope that the depictions of the brutal rule, wars fought and daily life of Peter we’re not as cruel as depicted. If they were, and he is considered Peter the Great, I shudder to think what Ivan the Terrible must have been like!

I found this book absolutely fascinating. It not only told the story of Tsarina Catherine I married to Peter the Great, but contained quite a bit of Russian history between 1699 - 1725 as well. The rise of Marta in becoming Tsarina is phenomenal. From a life of dire poverty and illiteracy and only beauty she conquers the heart of Peter the Great. The greatest tragedy of her life is that through countless pregnancies she only produces 3 living daughters and no Tsarevich to succeed Peter. Throughout the book Peter by hook and by crook drags Russia out of the Dark Ages into the modern era, although oftentimes by quite ruthless means. Thank you Net Galley and the wonderful publishers who allowed me to enjoy this marvelous work of art.

Tsarina by Ellen Alpstein is a clearly written historical novel based on the life of Catherine I of Russia.
We are witnessed to her transformation of being born into serfdom as Marta to becoming Catherine, the second wife of Peter the Great.
The author brings vividly to life this period of Russian history. You experience the brutality of war, the chasm between rich and poor, and the treatment of women during this time.
Warning: the novel does contain graphic sex scenes and violence, not all will appreciate.
In all, I enjoyed the novel, finding it interesting and informative. Perhaps a little bit too long, my only complaint.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

This book has a very interesting premise and a lovely cover. I was very excited to learn about this historical figure, of whom I had very little knowledge previously. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by the lack of historical accuracy in the first section of the book, coupled with the extreme graphic violence described therein. After reading a very violent rape scene of the main character (a child rape scene nonetheless, as she was only 15 years old), which followed a less explicit but also very traumatic depiction of the rape of another young teen side character and her eventual suicide, I found my enjoyment of the book vastly diminished. I will read about violence where it is a testament to things that actually happened or where the author does a great job of working through the trauma, , but after checking at least 3 sources, it was clear that absolutely none of the story of the main character's childhood depicted in this book actually matches what has been historically reported about her. I don't at all mind wild flights of fancy in a historical fiction book where the historical aspect is a time period/backdrop. When it is a story of a real person's life, I believe the story should follow what is historically known, with the non-fictional parts filling in what the character might have thought or felt or been motivated by. It was particularly troubling that the book included such graphic and disturbing violence in a setting that doesn't in any way match what seems to be historically agreed upon about the character's life. It frankly felt gratuitous. I will say that I did not finish the book, so I will not be sharing this review beyond Netgalley.

3.0

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Ellen Alpsten, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I really wanted to LOVE this book, but, unfortunately, I cannot. The Russian nobility has always been very interesting to me, but this book didn't do it for me.

From the very beginning of the book, there was gratuitous violence, graphic sex scenes, and horrible murders and torture explained in great detail. If any of those things bother you, please do not read this book. The author writes beautifully, but this doesn't overcome the carnage in my mind.

Lukewarm recommendation. Please be aware of the violence, sexual, and torture scenes in care, it triggers you.

The topic is really interesting to me, but the reading was a bit slow to me (usually it takes me much less time to finish a book like this). I did enjoy the book though and I am glad I read it. While I understand it is not a history book and I enjoyed the stories, I wish it was a bit more historical and less fiction (though it may be hard due to little know facts about Marta’s past). Overall, it is a good book and worth reading

When I think of Russian history, my mind immediately goes to the fall of the Romanov family. So reading this was a really enlightening experience to learn about another point in time in the family's history. And I'm so glad this book was decided to be re-released because I don't think I would have come across this story otherwise. Great writing and the historical intrigue surrounding Catherine I made for a very captivating read.