Catherine the Great's seizure of power remains one of the most dramatic and iconic episodes in Russian history. Oranienbaum, the grandest baroque palace complex to be built in Russia during the 18th century, was the setting for her coup d'etat as well as where she commissioned her first palace as tsarina.

Its dazzling interiors survive intact from 1762. The palace was designed and built by Antonio Rinaldi, with the help of the great artists and craftsmen of the day, Giovanni Tiepolo, Giuseppe and Serafino Barozzi, and Stefano Torelli, to name but a few.

The Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum: Catherine the Great's Private Passion provides the reader with an exquisite introduction to one of the world's most enchanting 18th-century palaces.

Will Black is Russian Projects Director and Press Officer at the World Monuments Fund.