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Paula Paul is the author of 25 novels. She has been compared to Anne Tyler for her development of characters at to Margaret Attwood for her literary plot twists.
She is a native of Texas and now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite
Readers everywhere have heard of Russia's famous empress, Catherine the Great, but not everyone knows of the events in her life that led up to her heading the Russian empire. Catherine was originally Princess Sophie from one of the German principalities who was married by royal arrangement to Peter III, the sickly, drunken heir to the Russian throne who enjoyed playing with his toy soldiers and preferred any woman rather than Catherine. Never consummating her marriage to Peter, Catherine suffered through miscarriages, infant death and eventually the birth of her two sons in her romantic liaisons with members of the royal court in Russia and in Poland. Catherine converted from her Lutheran faith to Russian Orthodox Church, wished she could have married for love, and laughed with her friends, notably Sveta, her lady-in-waiting. She also became stronger over the years as she learned bit by bit of the politics of court and of the changing alliances of the European nations. An empress in the making, indeed!
"Sins of the Empress" is a well-written novel of the long life of Catherine the Great of Russia. It is filled with fascinating dialogue and details. Catherine, born Princess Sophie, is forced into marriage with an odious man whom she doesn't love, but she manages to salvage bits and pieces of amusement with Peter III even if it means playing toy soldiers with him and enduring his affairs with everyone but her. All characters compliment Catherine as she grows into the woman who will run the Russian Empire. The plot runs smoothly through the years of Catherine's life with her loves and her friendships. Did she sin? "The Sins of the Empress" tells the story of a high-born woman who had few choices but made the best of the world she was given.
