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The Europeans
Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,192 ratings, 185 reviews)
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The Europeans
$3200
$3500
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
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?
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
The acclaimed historical portrait of the love triangle between an opera star, a writer and an impresario - and their role in Europe's 19th-century cultural Renaissance.
The Europeans is a richly enthralling, panoramic cultural history of nineteenth-century Europe, told through the intertwined lives of three remarkable people: a great singer, Pauline Viardot, a great writer, Ivan Turgenev, and a great connoisseur, Pauline's husband Louis. Their ambitious lives and complex loves were bound up with an astonishing array of writers, composers and painters, all trying to make their way through the exciting, prosperous European cultural landscape that came about as a result of huge economic and technological change.
This culture - through trains, telegraphs and printing - allowed artists of all kinds to exchange ideas and make a living, as they travelled across the whole continent from the British Isles to Imperial Russia.
The Europeans is Orlando Figes' masterpiece. It describes huge changes through intimate details, little-known stories and through the lens of Turgenev and the Viardots' touching, strange love triangle. Events which we now see as central to European high culture are made completely fresh, allowing the reader to revel in the sheer precariousness with which the great salons, premieres and bestsellers came into existence.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Enthusiastic reviews highlight The Europeans by Orlando Figes as a meticulously researched and elegantly written exploration of 19th-century European cultural transformation. Critics praise its insights into history through the lives of remarkable individuals, appreciating its relevance, depth, and gripping narrative style. The book is described as not only engaging for historians but also captivating for anyone interested in literature, music, and art.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141979434
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 09 April 2020
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 417g
Pages: 576
About the Author
Orlando Figes is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Peasant Russia, Civil War, A People's Tragedy, Natasha's Dance, The Whisperers, Crimea and Just Send Me Word. His work has won a number of major prizes and been translated into some twenty different languages.
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