Creating the Empress

In Creating the Empress Vera Proskurina examines the interaction between power and poetry in creating the imperial image of Catherine the Great providing a detailed analysis of a wide range of Russian literary works from this period particularly the main Classical myths associated with Catherine (Amazon Astraea Pallas Athena Felicitas Fortune etc.) as well as how these Classical subjects affirmed imperial ideology and the monarch's power. Each chapter of the book revolves around the major events of Catherine's reign (and some major literary works) that give a broad framework to discuss the evolution of important recurring motifs and images.