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Waiting for Pushkin
Russian Fiction in the Reign of Alexander I (1801-1825)
Series: - Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics, Volume: 44
- Studies in Slavic Literature and Poetics Online, Volume: 44
Author:
Waiting for Pushkin provides the only modern history of Russian fiction in the early nineteenth century to appear in over thirty years.
Prose fiction has a more prominent position in the literature of Russia than in that of any other great country. Although nineteenth-century fiction in particular occupies a privileged place in Russian and world literature alike, the early stages of this development have so far been overlooked.
By combining a broad historical survey with close textual analysis the book provides a unique overview of a key phase in Russian literary history. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including rare editions and literary journals, Alessandra Tosi reconstructs the literary activities occurring at the time, introduces neglected but fascinating narratives, many of which have never been studied before and demonstrates the long-term influence of this body of works on the ensuing “golden age” of the Russian novel.
Waiting for Pushkin provides an indispensable source for scholars and students of nineteenth-century Russian fiction. The volume is also relevant to those interested in women’s writing, comparative studies and Russian literature in general.
Prose fiction has a more prominent position in the literature of Russia than in that of any other great country. Although nineteenth-century fiction in particular occupies a privileged place in Russian and world literature alike, the early stages of this development have so far been overlooked.
By combining a broad historical survey with close textual analysis the book provides a unique overview of a key phase in Russian literary history. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including rare editions and literary journals, Alessandra Tosi reconstructs the literary activities occurring at the time, introduces neglected but fascinating narratives, many of which have never been studied before and demonstrates the long-term influence of this body of works on the ensuing “golden age” of the Russian novel.
Waiting for Pushkin provides an indispensable source for scholars and students of nineteenth-century Russian fiction. The volume is also relevant to those interested in women’s writing, comparative studies and Russian literature in general.
Alessandra Tosi is Affiliated Lecturer in Russian and Research Associate of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge
"This impressive study fills a major lacuna in our understanding of the development of Russian literature in the first quarter of the nineteenth century […]. Alessandra Tosi has done a prodigious amount of research in two areas - primary published sources from the late eighteenth century until Alexander I’s death and the vast library of critical comment in several languages from that time until the present. […] [S]he discusses virtually every phenomenon that influenced the development of fiction in this period." – P. Austin, in:
Slavic Review 66/2 (2007)
"Far from being a sterile tract lying between Karamzin and Pushkin, Tosi’s new-found land is one where modern Russian fiction continued to evolve. It was not a period of merely marking time, of ‘waiting’ for Pushkin. The book presents copious evidence for any attempt to judge the extent to which Pushkin might have benefited from the experience of his immediate predecessors." – Gareth Jones, in: Journal of European Studies 37/1
"[…] Waiting for Pushkin is an authoritative and important piece of scholarship which will prove a valuable point of reference. It fills a lacuna in our knowledge of Russian literature by recovering a host of neglected works. In the process it enables us to understand the energy that drove Russian culture in this period of nation-building and to see more clearly than before a certain continuity in the history of Russian literature in its formative phase." – Derek Offord, in: Modern Language Review 102/4 (2007)
"Far from being a sterile tract lying between Karamzin and Pushkin, Tosi’s new-found land is one where modern Russian fiction continued to evolve. It was not a period of merely marking time, of ‘waiting’ for Pushkin. The book presents copious evidence for any attempt to judge the extent to which Pushkin might have benefited from the experience of his immediate predecessors." – Gareth Jones, in: Journal of European Studies 37/1
"[…] Waiting for Pushkin is an authoritative and important piece of scholarship which will prove a valuable point of reference. It fills a lacuna in our knowledge of Russian literature by recovering a host of neglected works. In the process it enables us to understand the energy that drove Russian culture in this period of nation-building and to see more clearly than before a certain continuity in the history of Russian literature in its formative phase." – Derek Offord, in: Modern Language Review 102/4 (2007)
Preface
Chapter I: Fiction in Alexander’s Russia: the social and cultural context
Chapter II: Literary circles, periodicals and the debate over Prose
Chapter III: The eighteenth-century literary heritage
Chapter IV: Sentimentalism in early nineteenth–century Russia: Karamzin’s epigones and new trends in sentimental prose
Chapter V: Contemporary literary influences: pre-romantic and romantic trends
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
Chapter I: Fiction in Alexander’s Russia: the social and cultural context
Chapter II: Literary circles, periodicals and the debate over Prose
Chapter III: The eighteenth-century literary heritage
Chapter IV: Sentimentalism in early nineteenth–century Russia: Karamzin’s epigones and new trends in sentimental prose
Chapter V: Contemporary literary influences: pre-romantic and romantic trends
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index