The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova

On the reign of Peter III, on Catherine II taking the throne, on palace intrigues and coups, on the everyday life of that time—everything is told in the memoirs of one of the most famous Russian women of the 18th century!

Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, née Vorontsova (1743–1810), is one of the most famous Russian women of the 18th century. A friend of Catherine the Great, head of two academies, princess—she left a vivid mark both in culture and in politics. She took part in the palace coup in favor of her royal friend, traveled widely across Western Europe, and made acquaintances with leading minds of her time—Denis Diderot, Benjamin Franklin, Adam Smith. And finally, she wrote her memoirs—the famous “Memoirs.”

In the “Memoirs” there is valuable information about the time of Peter III’s reign, Catherine II’s ascension to the throne, and Dashkova’s role in the coup; about the full of intrigue life at court; details of the princess’s ten-year wandering through Europe; sketches of Moscow everyday life in the mid-18th century; and character portraits of well-known Russian and European figures whom the author’s fate brought into her circle.