Nikolai Leskov – författare

Leskov’s stories of Russian life are explosions of imagination. Peopled by outsized characters including serfs, princes, Gypsy girls, horse dealers, nomadic Tartars and garrulous storytellers, Leskov’s writing exuberantly fables the national character of his age. For the first time, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s translation brings Leskov’s original storytelling and irresistible voice to life.

The story of a passionate young woman who escapes her stifling marriage through adultery and murder, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is now the basis for an acclaimed new film starring Florence PughNikolai Leskov is one of the most unique voices of nineteenth-century Russia, with a fascination for idiosyncratic characters, lurid crimes, comic absurdity, spirituality and the joy of pure story. This volume contains five of his greatest short tales, including the matchless masterpiece Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Translated with an introduction by David McDuff

Five great stories from one of the most quintessentially Russian of writers, Nikolai Leskov.In the best of Leskov's stories, as in almost no others apart from those of Gogol, we can hear the voice of nineteenth-century Russia. An outsider by birth and instinct, Leskov is one of the most undeservedly neglected figures in Russian literature. He combined a profoundly religious spirit with a fascination for crime, an occasionally lurid imagination and a great love for the Russian vernacular. This volume includes five of his greatest stories, including the masterful Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was born in 1831 in Gorokhovo, Oryol Province and was orphaned early. In 1860 he became a journalist and moved to Petersburg where he published his first story. He subsequently wrote a number of folk legends and Christmas tales, along with a few anti-nihilistic novels which resulted in isolation from the literary circles of his day. He died in 1895.David McDuff is a translator of Russian and Nordic literature. His translations of nineteenth and twentieth century Russian prose classics (including works by Dostoyevsky,Tolstoy, Bely and Babel) are published by Penguin.

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books'I decided that my trip had evidently been in vain, since nothing of interest could possibly occur on this visit. I was mistaken.'Condemned to sleeplessness by the chatter permeating his guesthouse room, a forlorn traveller turns his ear to the riotous tale spun by the garrulous, meddlesome, inane and utterly unprincipled Márya Martýnovna next door. Her exuberant deformations of morality and language scandalized Tsarist society, and she remains one of Russian literature’s most uproarious anti-heroes.

Leskov’s stories of Russian life are explosions of imagination. Peopled by outsized characters including serfs, princes, Gypsy girls, horse dealers, nomadic Tartars and garrulous storytellers, Leskov’s writing exuberantly fables the national character of his age. For the first time, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s translation brings Leskov’s original storytelling and irresistible voice to life.

Bored and childless, Katerina Ismailov lives with her husband, Zinovy, under the cruel rule of her father-in-law, Boris. When Boris and Zinovy are both called away from their estate on urgent business, Katerina’s attentions soon turn to Sergei, the newly-arrived farmhand ­– and thus begins Nikolai Leskov’s perfectly formed tale of lust, murder, guilt and revenge.

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books'I decided that my trip had evidently been in vain, since nothing of interest could possibly occur on this visit. I was mistaken.'Condemned to sleeplessness by the chatter permeating his guesthouse room, a forlorn traveller turns his ear to the riotous tale spun by the garrulous, meddlesome, inane and utterly unprincipled Márya Martýnovna next door. Her exuberant deformations of morality and language scandalized Tsarist society, and she remains one of Russian literature’s most uproarious anti-heroes.

Admirado por Tolstói, Gorki y Thomas Mann, entre otros, Nikolái Leskov, además de uno de los maestros de la literatura rusa del XIX, parece encarnar la esencia del narrador; a su poderosa imaginación se une un lenguaje muy bello, consecuencia de su excepcional dominio del ruso.Esta novela corta, que inspiró la conocida ópera de Shostakóvich, narra la historia de la joven Katerina Lvovna. Hastiada por su matrimonio de conveniencia con un hombre que le dobla la edad, siente la falta de libertad desde su infancia; cuando conoce al joven Serguéi Filíppych se verá arrastrada por una pasión devoradora.Esta Lady Macbeth no actúa llevada por una desmedida ambición, sino por un amor apasionado. Tal vez por eso, el lector, a pesar de sus crímenes, no puede evitar entender su sufrimiento.

Un bateau fend les vagues sur le lac Lagoda. À bord, les voyageurs ont le regard tourné vers un mystérieux colosse en habit de moine qui fait route avec eux. Pour répondre à leur curiosité, ce dernier raconte aux voyageurs les aventures qui l''ont amené à s''engager dans les ordres et à devenir religieux.Né serf, tour à tour dresseur de chevaux, vagabond, soldat et moine, ses histoires seront aussi improbables qu''extraordinaires…« Le Voyageur Enchanté » dresse le portrait d''une Russie profonde, celle de la Sibérie et des steppes. Mais c''est aussi là une exploration sur l''art et le récit, et la meilleure œuvre pour comprendre la pensée de Nikolaï Leskov.

The story of the novel revolves around Catherine "Florence Poe," a young teenage girl who appears strong and beautiful, and whose family married her to the son of a wealthy man who owned one of the mines in Mtsensk, and who was years older than her. The film begins where the woman is announced as her wife in front of everyone. She is wearing an elegant wedding dress and the priest is performing the marriage ceremony. She was facing the situation with strange indifference, while we sense from her facial features that there were many thoughts constantly burning in her mind. On the wedding night, her maid, Anna (Naomi Akai), enters the room with her, takes off her wedding dress, combs her long hair, and dresses her in a white abaya that covers her entire body, so that the husband enters. Alexander "Paul Hilton" After the maid leaves, the husband gives specific instructions: "Do not leave the palace." She responds, "I hate loneliness. Do not open the windows." She responds, "I adore the outdoors. Cover yourself with heavy covers. It is very cold here." She responds, "No, I am colder."