Ivan Turgenev

Written in 1850, The Diary of a Superfluous Man is Turgenev's novella in the form of the diary of a dying man. With two weeks to live, Tchulkaturin takes stock of his life only to discover how purposeless, loveless, and futile it has been. The other stories in this collection are "Three Portraits," an historical reminiscence ignited by three paintings; "Three Meetings," a tale of remarkable coincidences; "Mumu." the heartbreaking story of a peasant...

Rudin was written by Turgenev in the immediate aftermath of the Crimean War, when it became obvious to many educated Russians that reform was needed. The main debate of Turgenev's own generation was that of East versus West. Rudin depicts a typical man of this generation, aka the men of forties, intellectual but ineffective. Rudin is often compared to Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Lermontov's Pechorin.

Ivan Turgenev's story set on the outskirts of Moscow, in the house of an old widow. Turgenev wrote Mumu with such vivid images and reflections of the state of the tsarist Russia that this piece together with his other stories was credited with having influenced public opinion in favour of the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

I will tell you without beating about the bush. My patient ... how should I say?... Well, she had fallen in love with me ... or, no, it was not that she was in love ... however ... really, how should one say?' (The doctor looked down and grew red.) 'No,' he went on quickly, 'in love, indeed!

A journey into the depth of Russian countryside where intimate connection with nature comes as a natural way of life. Meet Kassyan, who can communicate directly with birds and other forest creatures. Discover mysterious sweet-voiced oracle bird, The Gamayune living among trees with leaves that fall not, neither in autumn nor in winter, and apples grow of gold, on silver branches, and every man lives in uprightness and content.

Lavretsky pursues an education in Moscow, and while he is studying there, he falls in love with a beautiful young woman Varvara. The two move to Paris, where Varvara becomes a very popular salon hostess and begins an affair with one of her frequent visitors. Lavretsky learns of the affair only when he discovers a note written to her by her lover. Shocked by her betrayal, he severs all contact with her and returns to his family estate.

Generally thought to be the work that led to the abolishment of serfdom in Russia, Sketches from a Hunter's Album (A Sportsman's Sketches) is a series of short stories, written in 1852, that gained Turgenev widespread recognition for his unique writing style. These stories were the result of Turgenev's observations while hunting all over Russia, particularly on his abusive mother's estate at Spasskoye. A definitive work of the Russian Realist tradition,...

Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883) was a novelist, poet and playwright known for his honest and affectionate portrayals of Russian serfs in the feudal system of the nineteenth century. Unlike his contemporaries Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy, whose writings focused primarily on church and religion, Turgenev believed in and advocated the need for Russia to Westernize. He criticized the provincial society and political turbulence of his time through sophisticated,...

A DESPERATE CHARACTER AND OTHER TALES is a collection of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev's stories that spans his career. The six tales were written between 1847 and 1881. "Pyetushkov" (1847), "The Brigadier" (1867), "A Strange Story" (1869), "Punin and Baburin" (1874), "Old Portraits" (1881), and "A Desperate Character" (1881) are a showcase of the classic Russian stylist's work and a study in Russian lyrical fatalism, idealism, and a struggle with issues...

Inhalt: Drei Begegnungen Visionen Der Hund Das Lied der triumphierenden Liebe Ein Traum Aus dem Buch: