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Sketches from a Hunter's Album

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Sketches from a Hunter's Album by Ivan Turgenev is a collection of interconnected stories that offer a vivid portrayal of rural Russian life in the 19th century. Through the eyes of a wandering narrator, readers encounter diverse characters and explore their interactions with the natural world and societal norms. The book combines lyrical descriptions with keen social observation, highlighting the complexities and hardships of the peasant class in tsarist Russia.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate rich, evocative descriptions of rural life and nature, paired with poignant reflections on human existence. If you are drawn to stories that offer a window into 19th-century Russian society through the eyes of a keen observer, this work will likely resonate with you.

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First published in 1852, "Sketches from a Hunter's Album" is a loose series of lyrical stories of rural life under serfdom. This expanded edition includes all Turgenev's other short stories.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Sketches from a Hunter's Album, Turgenev's first major prose work, is a series of twenty-five sketches that capture the observations and anecdotes of the author during his travels through Russia, fuelled by his passion for hunting. His album is filled with moving insights into the lives of those he encounters—peasants and landowners, doctors and bailiffs, neglected wives and bereft mothers. Each sketch provides a glimpse of love, tragedy, courage, and loss, anticipating Turgenev's great later works such as First Love and Fathers and Sons.

His depiction of the cruelty and arrogance of the ruling classes was considered subversive and led to his arrest and confinement to his estate. However, these sketches opened the minds of contemporary readers to the plight of the peasantry and were even said to have influenced Tsar Alexander II to abolish serfdom.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140445220

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 August 1990

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Richard Freeborn
  • Translated by Richard Freeborn
  • Notes by Richard Freeborn

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 282g

Pages: 416

About the Author

Turgenev (1818-83) studied philosophy at Petersburg University, Russia. When he was nineteen he began to publish poems before moving to study in Berlin. In 1843 he fell in love with a young Spanish singer, whose influence remained throughout his life. He followed her round Europe, and was accepted by her and her husband as a friend. He had one daughter with a sempstress. After 1856 he lived mainly abroad and was well-known in Paris, where he was a friend of Flaubert. He wrotes six novels, all after 1855. Isaiah Berlin was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford and the first President of Wolfson College, Oxford. He received many honours and awards throughout his lifetime. On his death in 1997, he was described by The Times as 'one of the most influential figures in the intellectual life of the country.' V.S. Pritchett was Visiting Professor at several American universities and President of the Society of Authors. He wrote critical works, novels and short stories throughout his lifetime. When he died in 1991 he was described by The Guardian as 'one of the towering English literary figures of the century.' Richard Freeborn is Emeritus Professor of Russian Literature at the University of London. he has published widely on Russian literature, including Turgenev, A Study and The Rise of the Russian Novel.

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