Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
Pushkin
A biography of Alexander Pushkin that follows his writing, politics, and private life. It carefully shows how imperial Russia shaped both his work and his character, and it moves beyond the myth to recover the person behind the poet.
Work Information
A portrait of Pushkin that reads the myth through both his era and his humanity.
This substantial biography places Pushkin's poetry and life against the changing Russian society and the pressures of empire. It balances literary history with the human drama of love, duels, and political tension, while keeping the pace of a compelling narrative.
Book Information
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Published
- 2002-09-16
- Pages
- 751 pages
- Language
- 英語
- ISBN-13
- 9780002150842
- ISBN-10
- 0002150840
- Price
- 2699 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/History & Criticism/Criticism & Theory
A major new biography of one of literature’s most romantic and enigmatic figures. ‘It was the devil’s idea that I should be born in Russia with a soul and with talent!’(Pushkin in a letter to his wife). Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was possibly Russia’s greatest poet – the nearest Russian equivalent to Shakespeare – and his brief life was as turbulent and dramatic as anything in his work. Born in Moscow in 1799, Pushkin was expelled from St Petersburg at the age of twenty as a result of his satirical writings. He remained in internal exile, under the supervision of the Emperor, for the next seven years, and throughout his life he continued to excite official disapproval for his political and religious beliefs. In 1832 he married a young beauty, Natalia Goncharova. Five years later he became jealous of the attentions paid to her by a French nobleman, and challenged him to a duel, in which he was fatally injured. Pushkin’s life and writings have inspired generations of devotees, and his influence continues to be felt in the present day. His best-known works include The Bronze Horseman, the blank-verse historical drama Boris Godunov, the verse novel Eugene Onegin and Queen of Spades.
T.J. Binyon lectures in Russian literature at Wadham College, Oxford.
Reviews
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A Robust Biography on a True Poet
This biography, which comes in at a massive 1,003 pages, is filled to the brim with every detail, minute and major, about Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin. From his childhood as the descendant of a Black General and being raised among the elite society to his adult years where he chases women, writes incredible literature and gets into way too much trouble to his untimely demise over honor and injured ego. This may be the greatest biography I have ever had the pleasure to ddiscover. Pushkin was incredible!!! Major applause for the writer, TJ Binyon, for bringing the life of this rockstar poet to life!
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Strongly Recommended
A very enjoyable and engaging portrayal of Pushkin, his family and associates. The narrative is detailed with a good pace and evocative sense of the period. Pushkin's occasional vulgarity, his full-blooded zest for life and his personal sensitivities are well told. The use of letters and other first hand sources give him and the other protagonists their own voice. A very well balanced portrait that evokes real sympathy and doesn't eulogise. I found the final chapter particularly moving, despite knowing factually what was coming.
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Great biography of one of the greatest Russian literary geniuses
Being a Russian myself, I deliberately chose a biography of Pushkin by the foreign author. Totally unbiased, thoroughly researched, with abundance of every life details and events leading to his untimely demise. Thank you for the great work of biographical prose and meticulous research.
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In depth analysis combined with spellbinding storytelling
This is the most in depth biography of Pushkin that I have come across.
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Magnificent
Still an enigma how a Russian non speaking author can put such a comprehensive and wonderful book; well researched and above all interesting. The same for the author of the Gentlemen in Moscow.