The daughter of an impoverished aristocrat Catherine was married aged 16 to Grand Duke Peter heir to the throne of all the Russias a feckless teenager with a weakness for drink. Catherine was only able to give him an heir by passing off her lover's son as his own. In 1762 Catherine rode out of St Petersburg at the head of an army to arrest her husb&. Three months later she became sole empress of the largest empire on earth. She was 33 years old. She ruled Russia as a benevolent autocrat for 34 years fighting the Turks abroad & rebellion at home & shepherding her people through the upheavals of the French Revolution. She took on many lovers but gave her heart to General Potemkin the foremost statesman of her time. She died in 1796 aged 67 revered by her people as 'our mother' praised by Voltaire as a philosopher reviled by her enemies as the Messalina of the North & remembered in history as Catherine the Great. From this extraordinary life of great events fabulous splendour & barbaric cruelty Robert K. Massie has woven a thrilling narrative based on impeccable scholarship & a cinematic eye for detail. ...

The major exhibition Catherine the Great: An Enlightened Empress marks the 250th anniversary of Catherines ascension to the Russian throne. It also marks the longstanding connections between Scotland & Russia. Opening on 13 July 2012 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh (its only venue) the exhibition has been co-developed by the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. Catherine (1729-96) one of Russias most successful rulers was also one of the greatest art collectors of all time. The exhibition
Includes:: costumes & uniforms; snuffboxes inlaid with precious gems gold & silver; Ancient Greek & Roman carved cameos depicting figures from biblical stories mythology & history; & many of the finest examples of porcelain glass metal & polished stone items ever made in Russia. It also

Includes:: a newly restored. full-length portrait of the Empress in her coronation robes by the court painter Virgilus Eriksen. This book has eight illustrated essays by experts in the fields of Russian history & art followed by a selected catalogue of the 300+ exhibits. There is also a hardback edition.


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Empress empire-builder intellectual art-collector & lover
- this magnificent new biography does full justice to a truly remarkable
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Many legends have grown up about the sexual rapacity of Catherine the Great. While it is true that she shocked the Russian court with the number & age of her lovers there is no truth in the rumour of her death by stallion. Unhappily married to the Grand Duke Peter a man who preferred to play with his toy soldiers in the bedroom they failed to produce an heir & Catherine turned her attentions to a certain Sergey Saltykov who fathered the future Tsar Paul I. Six months into the reign of Peter III Catherine supported by the Imperial Guard staged a successful coup against her husband & became Empress. It was her ambition to transform a vast but semi-barbaric country with the cultural & political reforms of Enlightenment Europe. In this timely & fascinating biography Virginia Rounding reveals an extraordinary woman in all her complexity. ...

Historys greatest love story Catherine the Great & Potemkin is a sweeping epic of sex love power conquest & extravagance on a magnificent Russian scale. Not only was only was their romance wildly passionate but they were also probably the most successful political partnership of all outstripping Antony & Cleopatra or Napoleon & Josephine. Their secret letters which discuss other lovers sex wars politics arts & health are surely the most intimate & extraordinary ever written by an empress or politician. Both characters in this joint biography based on new archives are fascinating: she a German princess married lovelessly at 14 to the Russian heir combined charm passion & political genius. She ruthlessly seized power & ruled triumphantly for thirty years; he
- a brilliant flamboyant politician strategist & conqueror of wild eccentricity & debauchery. Outrageously sexual & political he was the love of her life. They shocked Europe by taking younger lovers yet they secretly married & ruled together as best friends & lifelong lovers.
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Succeed at Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Units 3 & 8: Roman Catholic Christianity with this revision guide which provides the content you need & guidance on applying it This revision guide has been written by an expert in order to help you achieve your best in Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Units 3 & 10. Helps you consolidate your knowledge with bitesize summary of key content Prepares you for your exams with sample examination questions & accompanying exemplar answers Helps you to aim for better grades with useful tips on what the examiner is looking for. CONTENTS: Unit 3
- Religion & Life based on a study of Roman Catholic Christianity 3.1 Believing in God 3.2 Matters of life & death 3.3 Marriage & the family 3.4 Religion & community Cohesion Unit 10
- Catholic Christianity 10.1 Beliefs & values 10.2 Community & tradition 10.3 Worship & celebration 10.4 Living the Christian Life

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As the first truly easy-to-read Bible translation & still the UKs most popular the Good News Bible is the ideal Bible for personal & church use. This new edition with Apocrypha & Deuterocanonical books is designed for Catholic readers. The Good News Bible was a bestseller from its first publication as Good News for Modern Man providing a unique combination of accessibility & faithfulness to the best Greek & Hewbrew sources. It has earned the respect of a wide range of scholars for its accuracy & reliability & because it is easy to read & understand it is suitable for people of all ages. With the inclusion of the Apocrypha & Deuterocanonical books & accordingly complete with Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur this Good News Bible is the perfect choice for Catholic readers. ...

The easy way to grasp the ins & outs of Catholicism Catholicism For Dummies is not a catechism or religious textbook but a casual down-to-earth introduction for Catholics & non-Catholics. It gives commonsense explanations of Catholic weddings Baptisms funerals Confirmations & First Communions. Youll also discover other important topics that can help you better understand the Catholic culture--from morality & devotions to worship & liturgy. There are more than one billion Catholics in the world & each one shares a foundational set of basic beliefs & practices that he or she follows. Some of the teachings of Catholicism are thousands of years old while others are more recent. So what is the Catholic culture like & what do they believe? Catholicism For Dummies answers these & many other questions. Various stances within American Catholicism today Covers the death of John Paul II & the succession of Pope Benedict XVI who has supported the return of the Latin Mass among congregations who desire to celebrate it Expanded information on baptism confirmation & the other sacraments New information about the priesthood & religious life today Twenty-first-century issues & questions modern Catholics face including gay marriage abortion & the death penalty Catholicism For Dummies presents a rich tapestry & history of the Catholic faith--from devotions to doctrines. This intelligent & faithful look at Catholicism will open your eyes to this religion & answer many of the questions you may have about it. ...

When 17-year-old Cathy wakes up one morning to discover a needlepoint near her elbow her mother is typically suspicious & worried. But Cathy has other ideas & quickly puts them into action. In pursuit of her missing boyfriend (who she feels must be linked to the strange mark on her arm) she starts piecing some startling facts together which lead her into the dangerous underworld of San Franciscos China Town. Throughout her findings Cathy keeps a secret journal & gathers many items of evidence as well as telephone numbers & websites
- leaving it all for her friend Emma to find should Cathy go too far & not come back. All this evidence can be found integrated into the book & also available to download online. Readers who fully explore this compelling & unique novel will enter an alternate reality as they reach deeper into the thrilling mystery of Cathys world.
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Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand attempts to capture the charm & elegance of the cat with a series of portraits with & without their owners & in all their moods. Arranged by breed the book begins with short-haired cats including the sturdy British shorthair the curly-coated Cornish Rex the elegant Abyssinian & the hairless Sphinx
- so ugly that only its owners could love it. Further chapters look at medium & long-haired cats such as the Scottish Fold & the Maine Coon & the Oriental breeds including the fabulously fluffy Persians. The casting" for these pictures was done by an international cat show judge to select the best representatives of each breed. As well as giving full descriptions of each breed to accompany the photographs the text explores the history & mythology of the cat."
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