Charity Wakefield
Description
A satirical, comedic drama, based on the occasional historical fact, about the rise of Catherine the Great. An idealistic romantic young girl, she arrives from Prussia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter hoping for love and sunshine and finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military, and get the court on her side.
Description
The Final Season revolves around more court machinations, complicated relationships, and coup attempts. Catherine is still in charge, meeting with peasants and nobles to get input on her quest to modernize Russia. She's working on bonding with Peter and their young son Paul. Meanwhile, the sidelined Peter tries his hand at "First Husband" duties like hunting and inventing new cuisines but soon finds himself bored with his lack of power.