Russian Literature and Its Demons

Pamela Davidson is Professor of Russian Literature at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College, London.

• List of IllustrationsNotes on ContributorsPrefaceIntroduction: Russian Literature and its Demons: Introductory EssayPamela DavidsonPART I: TRADITIONS AND CONTEXTSChapter 1. Nostalgia for Hell: Russian Literary Demonism and Orthodox TraditionSimon FranklinChapter 2. The Russian Folk Devil and His Literary ReflectionsFaith WigzellChapter 3. Antichrist Enthroned: Demonic Visions of Russian RulersKevin PlattChapter 4. Divine Service or Idol Worship? Russian Views of Art as DemonicPamela DavidsonPART II: LITERARY DEMONSChapter 5. The Muse and the Demon in the Poetry of Pushkin, Lermontov and BlokPamela DavidsonChapter 6. Lermontov's The Demon: Identity and AxiologyRobert ReidChapter 7. The Devil is in the Detail: Demonic Features of Gogol's PetersburgJulian GraffyChapter 8. The Devils' Vaudeville: "Decoding" the Demonic in Dostoevsky's The DevilsW. J. LeatherbarrowChapter 9. Rozanov and His Literary DemonsLiza DimblebyChapter 10. The Demon. The Mythopoetic World Model in the Art of Lermontov, Vrubel, BlokAvril PymanChapter 11. The Demonomania of Sorcerers: Satanism in the Russian Symbolist NovelAdam WeinerChapter 12. Symbolist Devils and Acmeist Transformation: Gumilev, Demonism, and the Absent Hero in Akhmatova's Poem Without a HeroMichael BaskerChapter 13. Playing Devil's Advocate: Paradox and Parody in Zamiatin's "The Miracle of Ash Wednesday"Philip CavendishChapter 14. Literary Representations of Stalin and Stalinism as DemonicRosalind MarshIndex

"On the whole, the volume reads like a cohesive book ... and maintains a high standard of scholarship throughout. Investigators of Russian literary demonism in the future will surely want to consult this excellent work."  · The Russian Review"... this collection displays a degree of mutual collaboration, as well as a consistently high quality, that surpasses that of most collections of essays ... it has much to praise and little to fault."  · Slavic Review"It will become a valuable reference for undergraduates and postgraduates in the Slavic and Comparative Literature fields."   · Australian and East European Studies "The scholarly excellence of individual contributions and the high standard that marks the constituent articles without exception … this volume is well thought out in conception and every effort appears to have been made by the editor to give it methodological cohesion. No doubt will it become a valuable reference for undergraduates and postgraduates in Slavic and Comparative Literature fields."   · Australian Slavonic and East European Studies