An imaginative retelling of Catherine the Great's improbable rise to power--as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.

"A killer virus ... an all-powerful Empress... an encounter cloaked i secrecy. Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the eighteenth century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation. But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments...

A portrait of the eighteenth-century Russian empress documents her rise from a little-known German princess to become one of Europe's most celebrated monarchs, in an account that offers insight into her public and private achievements.