Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, before attending L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. Upon graduating, she worked as a producer and presenter for Bloomberg TV in London: knowing no-one and working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three children and a chubby, moody fox-red Labrador. Tsarina, the first and only account of the incredible rise of Catherine I of Russia from serf to Empress, is her debut novel.
Ellen is on the blog today to talk about the fascinating allure of Catherine I for modern times. Read on …
Ellen Alpsten
The Forgotten Empress?
Never before has there been so much interest in female power and female reign, be it historically, or in current politics. Literature and TV adaptations are no exception: ‘So, is it another novel about Catherine the Great?’ People asked about my epic debut Tsarina. The two women bearing the same name, ruling the same country, in the same century, could hardly be more different! Tsarina tells for the first time ever the astonishing rise of Catherine I of Russia from illiterate and illegitimate serf girl to Empress of the world’s largest and wealthiest realm. It is also the story of the birth of modern Russia, of a rising Empire in turmoil and change, of the madness of war, the reckless brutality of absolute monarchy when nothing is as abundant and worthless as human life.
Catherine’s story had fascinated me ever since I read about her in a book called Germans and Russians, which charts the joint millennial history of those two people. I liken her to Tut-Ankh-Amun: The Tsars preceding and succeeding her had shed so much light that she slid into the shadows of history. The research, until I dared to enter her shocking and sensuous world, drafting the opening sentence of Tsarina, was arduous and the writing-routine stringent, as I worked as an anchor for Bloomberg TV, mostly rising at 2 am.
‘My’ Catherine overcomes a fate raging against her and embarks on one of the world’s most astonishing, passionate, and lasting love stories. Her story is as marked by surprising opposites as the Russian soul itself: callous cruelty and overwhelming empathy; overt hostility towards all things foreign, yet selfless hospitality to strangers; freezing, interminable winters – zima –, and the summers’ balmy white nights. Yet her world of constant change and ever shifting circumstances bore many threats. Female maltreatment was rampant and her life with the Tsar was like a river tearing her along: sink – or swim. Daisy Goodwin called Tsarina the ‘ultimate Cinderella story’, yet Catherine pushed herself tirelessly: bearing the Tsar thirteen children, travelling all over Russia, Europe, and Central Asia, and even accompanying him into the field. Next to being passionate lovers, they were great friends. She stood up to him and supported him through hardship and moments of doubt; she remained level-headed and merciful, yet ruthlessly defended what she had gained. If a contemporary observer wrote: ‘She wasn’t beautiful, but as warm as an animal,’ he spoke of her smouldering sex-appeal, as well as of her indomitable spirit. Her ascent bears testimony of the strength and the will to survive. Looking at her portraits, people might struggle to see her appeal. You can succeed without adhering to any norms, let alone beauty ideals. That is a very modern message. Russia is once more a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma for the Western World; What surprises us today was already present in the nation’s social make-up back then. Also, Vladimir Putin is Russia’s quasi-absolute ruler, a country which Tsarina observes with a foreigner’s keen eyes.
Peter the Great loved ‘turning the world upside down’: Catherine exceeded her brief, setting in motion everything that was to follow in Russia politically: a century of unprecedented female reign. She ruled a mere two, peaceful and prosperous years, a rarity in Russia. As a lasting legacy she financed Bering’s ship to find his eponymous strait.
Nobody who reads Tsarina shall ever forget ‘my’ Catherine again.
—Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten (Bloomsbury Australia) is out now. Find out more about Ellen Alpsten here.
Tsarina
Spring 1699: Illegitimate, destitute and strikingly beautiful, Marta has survived the brutal Russian winter in her remote Baltic village. Sold by her family into household labour at the age of fifteen, Marta survives by committing a crime that will force her to go on the run.
A world away, Russia's young ruler, Tsar Peter I, passionate and iron-willed, has a vision for transforming the traditionalist Tsardom of Russia into a modern, Western empire. Countless lives will be lost in the process. Falling prey to the Great Northern War, Marta cheats death at every turn, finding work as a washerwoman at a battle camp. One night at a celebration, she encounters Peter the Great. Relying on her wits and her formidable courage, and fuelled by ambition, desire and the sheer will...
Comments
January 22, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Hi Ellen! My name is Svetlana Loew, I live in Riga, Latvia. In 2013th I started a project Latvia is the homeland of the first Empress Catherine I. Since 2014 we organizing the charity Marta’s Ball in Riga in order to attract attention to her name and maybe in the future to build a tourist brand for Latvia. As you know- Latvia is a small country and tourism is very important for our economy. Unfortunately, we do not have any support from the Government or any private funds. And you know the reason. Russian-Latvian relations. A huge problem is that she became a Russian Empress but not Sweedish ( as an example) We try to break the wall and educate people. Latvians should be proud of Her as germans proud of Catherine II! She was not only a love, friend, more than 20 years partner of Peter the Great! We do our project only with the help of family, friends, and enthusiasts. Slowly but surely we moving ahead. If you want to learn more about us please, look at our site and maybe you would like to contact me for further cooperation. I would be happy! https://www.latviancatherine.com