Handwritten Notes of Empress Catherine II. Notes of Catherine Dashkova

"The Autobiographical Notes of Empress Catherine II" and "Notes" by Ekaterina Dashkova are two of the most famous monuments of memoir literature and invaluable sources of information about the events of the second half of the 18th century and the life at the court of Catherine the Great.
The extraordinary literary gift of Empress Catherine II bore abundant fruit. While ruling over a vast country, she also corresponded with great thinkers, made translations, created librettos for operas and ballets, wrote fables, fairy tales, historical plays and comedies, essays, and published satirical and polemical articles. "The Autobiographical Notes of Empress Catherine II" is both a masterfully executed self-portrait and a narrative of immense historical and literary significance. Vivid sketches of court life, intrigues, and conspiracies provide the reader with the opportunity to feel the whirlwind of events and the boiling passions that preceded Catherine’s ascension to the Russian throne.
Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova was an outstanding figure in Russian culture, one of the most educated women of her time, and significantly contributed to the flourishing of Russian Enlightenment. For over ten years (1783–1796), she headed the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts and also became one of the founders of the Russian Academy, which is most known for creating the first explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. Dashkova actively participated in organizing the state coup of 1762 that brought Catherine II to the throne. Subsequently, she spent about eight years abroad, meeting with Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Adam Smith, and other figures of science and culture of that time. Her "Notes" are a vivid, firsthand account of the events of the second half of the 18th century.