The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Literature

Caryl Emerson is A. Watson Armour III Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Princeton University.

• Preface; 1. Critical models, committed readers, and three Russian ideas; 2. Heroes and their plots; 3. Traditional narratives; 4. Western eyes on Russian realities: the eighteenth century; 5. The astonishing nineteenth century: Romanticisms; 6. Realisms: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov; 7. Symbolist and modernist world-building: three cities, three novels, and the devil; 8. The Stalin years: socialist realism, anti-Fascist fairy tales, wilderness; 9. Coming to terms and seeking other terms: from the First Thaw (1956) to the end of the millennium; Postscript: the Russian word in a fluid world; Notes; Pronunciations and definitions of Russian words, proper names, and place names occurring in the text (with first occurrence noted); The Russian literary canon in English; Guide to further reading.

'Apart from the advanced beginner, there are many other categories of reader who will derive profit and enjoyment from this book. … you will embark on a literary tour … that challenges preconceived notions and liberates the imagination.' Modern Language Review