4 1/2 stars. Biographies. They sometimes fill me with a sense of dread. How much teduious and pendantic writing will I have to suffer through? In this case, none!!! Not only was it a fascinating portrait of a woman who excercised power few women ever have and her extraordinary rise to the throne but also of the Russia and the Europe of her time. And although she believed that absolute monarchy was the best form of government she also was engaged with the Enlightenment and I was surprised by her forward thinking views on torture and capital punishment.