{"product_id":"two-comedies-by-catherine-the-great-empress-of-russia","title":"Two Comedies by Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia","description":"\u003cp\u003eCatherine the Great (1729-1796) wrote over two dozen plays and operettas, but not until this edition has a complete translation of any of them been available to an English- speaking readership.Oh, These Times (1772) is a satirical attack on many vices Catherine wished to root out from her society: religious hypocrisy, superstition and slander. The main character, Mrs. Pious, is a superficially religious old woman who resembles Moliere's Tartuffe.Catherine again sets her sights on superstition in The Siberian Shaman (1786), this time by satirizing shamanism as a deceitful profession which preys on the gullible. This play was part of a group of three plays usually known as Catherine's \"anti-masonic\" trilogy, written as a warning against the growing influence of the freemasons.In a comprehensive introduction, Lurana Donnels O'Malley relates the plays to Catherine's status and philosophy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44560000680174,"sku":"9789057550232","price":62.39,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/9612\/7726\/files\/9789057550232.jpg?v=1703705682","url":"https:\/\/bookland.com.au\/products\/two-comedies-by-catherine-the-great-empress-of-russia","provider":"Book Land AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}