Drunk Peter Snubbed Catherine the Great for Dolls: Lewis Lapham
"Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman"
Random House via Bloomberg
The cover jacket of "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman" by Robert K. Massie.
The cover jacket of "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman" by Robert K. Massie. Source: Random House via Bloomberg
Robert K. Massie
Alex Remnick/Random House via Bloomberg
Robert K. Massie, author of "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman."
Robert K. Massie, author of "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman." Photographer: Alex Remnick/Random House via Bloomberg
Lewis Lapham
Paul Goguen/Bloomberg
Lewis Lapham, of "Lapham's Quarterly," in New York. Lapham interviews authors for Bloomberg News.
Lewis Lapham, of "Lapham's Quarterly," in New York. Lapham interviews authors for Bloomberg News. Photographer: Paul Goguen/Bloomberg
It was the culmination of the Empress Elizabeth’s plan to put the right heir on the Russian throne.
Bedecked with diamonds, both wearing white with silver lace, on Aug. 21, 1745, the bridal couple rode with her in the state coach from the Winter Garden to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan.
(To listen to the podcast, click here.)
Peter was slight and sickly. At 17, he still enjoyed playing with dolls and toy soldiers and showed little interest in his smart, blue-eyed wife.
Anxious about her wedding night, Catherine had asked her mother about what might transpire but was reprimanded for displaying such indecent curiosity. When Peter finally slid into the bed beside her, he reeked of alcohol and tobacco, laughed nervously and promptly fell into a deep stupor.
Catherine slept beside him, untouched, for the next nine years. She began affairs with a series of smart men who advanced Russia’s power and also helped to permanently remove the dimwit from the throne.
I spoke with Robert Massie, author of “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman,” on the following topics:
1. Cultivated Princess
2. Husband Deposed
3. Serf Dilemma
4. Big Love: Gregory Potemkin
5. European Culture
To buy this book in North America, click here.
(Lewis Lapham is the founder of Lapham’s Quarterly and the former editor of Harper’s magazine. He hosts “The World in Time” interview series for Bloomberg News.)
To contact the writer on the story: Lewis Lapham in New York at lhl@laphamsquarterly.org.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Rate this Page