Known for her insight and sharp mind, Catherine II was keenly interested in philosophy, medicine and the natural sciences, carried on many years of correspondence with Diderot and Voltaire and invited many outstanding scientists of her time to her court. Among them was the experienced English doctor Thomas Dimmesdale, who in 1768 came from London to vaccinate Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and (the first of the European monarchs) Catherine herself against smallpox in the strictest secrecy. In the 18th century. The “spotted monster,” the deadly smallpox virus, was ravaging Europe, and the Empress was well aware of the threat the epidemic posed to Russia. The first mass vaccination campaign in Russia, successfully carried out by Dimmesdale, laid the foundation for modern vaccination practices. How the secret plan of the English doctor and the Russian Empress arose and was implemented is fascinatingly and reliably told in this book.