REVIEWS I45 assistant,ErichDonnert, is a celebrationof a life'sscholarlyendeavour under harshcircumstances,and an attemptto compensate forthe wrongsdone to its subject under the GDR regime. Besides Donnert's introduction, it includes severalarticleson 'theMuhlpfordtcase' and EastEuropeanhistoriographyin the GDR. But the great majority of contributions- 226 in all, by scholars from almost a score of countries- is devoted to Muhlpfordt'sown loves, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. As might be expected, the level, nature and focus of the individualpieces vary greatly,from small items of personalia ('Count Soden is delighted to discoverGeorg Forster')to such disquisitionsas 'Aspectsof the lines of intellectualdevelopment of the LutheranReformation up to classicalGerman philosophy' or 'Islamicarchitectureon the Volga and in the Crimea'. This reviewerfound the numerouspieces on Freemasonryand on personal contacts between Russia and Germany particularlyinteresting, but this is a fruitful lucky dip for all early modernists: its contents are too numerous to be discussedin any detail here. The series should be completed by a finalvolume containing a generalindex and bibliographyof the worksof the honorand. When it comes, it will round off a remarkable and welldeservedtributeto Muhlpfordt'spolitical and scholarlycareer. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies KARIN FRIEDRICH University College London Cross, Anthony G. PetertheGreat Through BritishEyes.Perceptions andRepresentationsoftheTsarSinceI698 . CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge, 2000. xii + I72 pp. Illustrations.Notes. Index. ?35.??. FOLLOWING the flurryof interest arousedby the recent tercentenaryof Peter the Great's Grand Embassy, many readers will be aware that Peter visited Englandin I698 and behavedverybadly. Or didhe?By andlarge,asAnthony Crossarguesin thislivelystudy,anecdoteswere more acceptableto the public than truthand continue to underpinPeter'scomposite image in Britain,which includes his drivingwheelbarrowsthroughJohn Evelyn'sprize holly hedge at Deptford (alegend extrapolatedfroma genuine listof itemsdamagedby Peter and his unruly retinue), or pronouncing that he thought it 'a much happier Life to be an Admiral in England, than a Czar in Russia'. Peter'spresence certainlycaused his Britishminderssome anxiety, especiallyas officiallyitwas not the tsar who was here, but one Peter Mikhailov, trainee shipwright.The instantly recognizable tsarjealously guarded his 'incognito', but he was so curious that he could not resist wandering off on sight-seeing and shopping expeditions, usually with crowds in hot pursuit.The uncouth and untutored nosinessof a 'giant-genius'determined to reformboth himselfand hispeople, to overcome prejudice, superstition and ignorance by learning from others, formed part of a potent image which allowed Russia to be viewed simultaneously as 'Oriental' and alien, but also potentially as 'one of us', albeit a junior, trainee version. If Russia was a 'blank sheet' on which European civilization could be imprinted, so much the better if the imprint could be British. What nation would not be flattered to be thought (according to anotherpronouncement of dubiousprovenance) 'the best, most beautifuland 146 SEER, 8o, I, 2002 happiest place on earth'?Formuch of the eighteenth century serious British writers cloaked Peter's image in Enlightenment terms (Voltaire'shistory of Peter, firstpublished in full in English in I763, was particularlyinfluential), against a background (with a few crises in Catherine II's reign) of good relationssealedby commercialagreements.The CrimeanWaronly temporarily dented British 'Petrolatry'.The most popular nineteenth-centuryEnglish history of Peter was John Barrow'sMemoir of theLifeofPetertheGreat (I 832), which arguedthatPeter's'greatdesign'forimprovinghis countryallowedone to forgive 'excesses and little eccentricities' (p. I09). But it was anecdotes, mostly adapted and recycled from German and French originals, which capturedthe imagination. Anthony Cross examines a wealth of material. Peterappearsas an unlikely role model forchildren(MaryPilkington,Parental Care Producing Practical Virtue, I8 Io), for example, and as a characterin such boys' adventurestoriesas Fred Wishaw's BoristheBearHunter(I894). The book ends with chapters on Peter on the British stage (where he was variouslypresented as a dashing hero, 'a monster of cruelty and vice', and a comic opera figure) and British Petrirne iconography. This is an enjoyable book not just for the Peter addict like this reviewer, but also for those interested in Britishviews of Russia generally. It makes a useful contribution to the growing literatureon travel writing, even though its author does not specificallylocate it in this theoretical context. It contains a wealth of references to rare publications (although no separately listed bibliography)and thirty-twoillustrations,including such curiosities as the 'Czar of Muscovy' tavern sign. Unfortunately, at ?35 it will probablynot reach many general readers, who...