Russian thinker, pedagogue, musicologist, amateur scientist, and public servant Odoevsky (1804-69) was mentioned in the same breath as Pushkin and Gogol during his day, and is now enjoying (we presume) a revival as a writer of Romantic and Gothic fiction. Cornwell (Russian and comparative literature, U. of Bristol, England) analyzes his contribution to Russian prose fiction, particularly his approach to Romanticism, his Gothic novellas, his proto-science fiction, and his critical reception. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Russian Nights, Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky's major work, is of great importance in Russian intellectual history. This captivating novel is the summation of Odoevsky's views and interests in many fields: Gothic literature, romanticism, mysticism, the occult, social responsibility, Westernization, utopia and anti-utopia. Compared variously to The Decameron, to Hoffman's Serapion Brethren, and the Platonic dialogues, Russian Nights is a mixture of genres - a series of romantic and society tales framed by Odoevsky's musings on the main strands of Russian thought of the 1820s and 1830s. This is a unique work of Russian literature, and a key sourcebook for Russian romanticism and Russian social and aesthetic thought of its epoch.
Consequences of Consciousness shows how great Russian authors conversed with each other through their fictions as they explored both the limits and the autonomy of subjective consciousness.
Vladimir Odoevsky (1804-1869) was a fascinating and encyclopedic figurein nineteenth-century Russian culture, who in his day was mentioned in the same breath as Pushkin and Gogol. Thinker, pedagogue, musicologist, amateur scientist and public servant, he is now undergoing a revival as a virtually rediscovered writer of Romantic and Gothic fiction. The author, a leading specialist on Odoevsky, analyses the contribution of Odoevsky to Russian prose fiction and in particular his influential approach to Romanticism, his Gothic novellas and his proto-science fiction, as well as his critical reception.
From the contents: From Pantheon to Pandemonium (Richard Peace). - Karamzin's Gothic tale: The Island of Bornholm (Derek Offord). - Alessandra TOSI: At the origins of the Russian Gothic novel: Nikolai Gnedich's Don Corrado de Gerrera (1803) (Alessandra Tosi). - Does Russian Gothic verse exist? The Case of Vasilii Zhukovskii (Michael Pursglove). - The fantastic in Russian Romantic prose: Pushkin's The Queen of Spades (Claire Whitehead).
This innovative volume considers the relationship between the Gothic and theories of Post-Colonialism. Contributors explore how writers such as Salman Rushdie, Arunhati Roy and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala use the Gothic for postcolonial ends. Post-Colonial theory is applied to earlier Gothic narratives in order to re-examine the ostensibly colonialist writings of William Beckford, Charlotte Dacre, H. Rider Haggard and Bram Stoker. Contributors include Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, David Punter and Neil Cornwell.
The thoroughly expanded and updated New Companion to the Gothic, provides a series of stimulating insights into Gothic writing, its history and genealogy. The addition of 12 new essays and a section on ‘Global Gothic’ reflects the direction Gothic criticism has taken over the last decade. Many of the original essays have been revised to reflect current debates Offers comprehensive coverage of criticism of the Gothic and of the various theoretical approaches it has inspired and spawned Features important and original essays by leading scholars in the field The editor is widely recognized as the founder of modern criticism of the Gothic
Russia possesses one of the richest and most admired literatures of Europe, reaching back to the eleventh century. A History of Russian Literature provides a comprehensive account of Russian writing from its earliest origins in the monastic works of Kiev up to the present day, still rife with the creative experiments of post-Soviet literary life. The volume proceeds chronologically in five parts, extending from Kievan Rus' in the 11th century to the present day.The coverage strikes a balance between extensive overview and in-depth thematic focus. Parts are organized thematically in chapters, which a number of keywords that are important literary concepts that can serve as connecting motifs and 'case studies', in-depth discussions of writers, institutions, and texts that take the reader up close and. Visual material also underscores the interrelation of the word and image at a number of points, particularly significant in the medieval period and twentieth century. The History addresses major continuities and discontinuities in the history of Russian literature across all periods, and in particular bring out trans-historical features that contribute to the notion of a national literature. The volume's time-range has the merit of identifying from the early modern period a vital set of national stereotypes and popular folklore about boundaries, space, Holy Russia, and the charismatic king that offers culturally relevant material to later writers. This volume delivers a fresh view on a series of key questions about Russia's literary history, by providing new mappings of literary history and a narrative that pursues key concepts (rather more than individual authorial careers). This holistic narrative underscores the ways in which context and text are densely woven in Russian literature, and demonstrates that the most exciting way to understand the canon and the development of tradition is through a discussion of the interrelation of major and minor figures, historical events and literary politics, literary theory and literary innovation.
