The Empress Ascendant

Catherine, Princess Consort of Russia, born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst

You were born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a minor German princess married off at fifteen to the heir of the Russian Empire. Your husband Peter is a fool who worships Frederick of Prussia, plays with toy soldiers, and openly keeps a mistress while threatening to divorce you and bastardize your son Paul. You have spent eighteen years learning Russian, converting to Orthodoxy, reading Voltaire and Montesquieu, and cultivating allies among the guard officers, the clergy, and the nobility. The Orlov brothers — your lover Grigory and his fierce brother Alexei — have been turning the Guard regiments for months. Princess Dashkova, brilliant and young, has rallied the intellectual nobility. Count Panin controls access to your son, the legitimate heir. But this morning, a conspirator was arrested. The secret is out. You must act tonight or face imprisonment, exile, or death.

The Russian Empire under the erratic rule of Peter III, who has alienated the Orthodox Church, the Imperial Guard, and most of the nobility. Saint Petersburg is a city of white nights and whispered conspiracies, where the Neva River reflects baroque palaces and the fate of millions hangs on the loyalty of a few regiments. Tonight, the coup that has been months in planning must either succeed or be abandoned forever — a guard officer has been arrested, and the conspiracy is unraveling.