Empress of the Night and The Winter Palace are two novels inspired by the Russian empress Catherine the Great. Both are meant to stand alone, but they work best together, for together they offer two different vantage points from which the reader can watch Catherine the Great. In The Winter Palace Catherine's story is told by Varvara, her confidante and spy, clearly captivated by her mistress. Empress of the Night gives Catherine centre stage. In this novel we meet the Russian empress as a mature woman who has survived palace politics and secured her own position. A woman who knows how to rule and knows the price of power.

You may not always like her, you may not always approve of her decisions, but you will have to admit she is one of the most fascinating women with few equals in world history.