This is the ultimate Cinderella story of an illiterate peasant girl who becomes the Empress of Russia. It makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme.

Daisy Goodwin

Ellen Apsten's Tsarina brings to life the dramatic life of Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great, and afterwards Empress of Russia in her own right. She recounts this remarkable woman's colourful life and times in the form of a novel, drawing however throughout on documentary evidence – this proves a highly effective approach

Nikolai Tolstoy

Tsarina is luscious. As detailed as the jewels and enamel inlay on the creations of Faberge, Ellen Alpsten writes the story of Catherine Alexeyevna, born poor with a lust for power and riches, who sets her mind to achieve both, and sets in motion all that will follow in Russian history, including the reign of Catherine the Great. You will marvel at this crisp, elegant fictional account of history, woven with emotion and brio

Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife