GREAT CATHERINE, THE LIFE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT, EMPRESS OF RUSSIA

She decreed that her nobles desist from calling her the Great Most Wise Mother of the Fatherland. Catherine II, otherwise known as Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, seems almost modern in her independence, her voracious reading, her humanity, her desire to codify the laws of the realm and her apparent sexual freedoms. Davina Porter's reading enhances this biography, which mimics a romantic, historical novel. Porter's narration is articulate and benefits from her mellifluous voice. While the first person is fairly rare in history books, she does a good job with it and with gender differentiation. The author's depiction of eighteenth-century Russian cities comes alive in Porter's narration. J.D.N. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB 96]