Michael R. Katz

Translation of a Russian novel, providing a fictionalized account of the assassination of grand duke Sergei Alexandrovich, written by the leader of the terrorist cell who actually organized the real murder.

Vasily Sleptsov was a Russian social activist and writer during the politically charged 1860s, known as the "era of great reforms," and marked by Alexander II's emancipation of the serfs and the relaxation lifting of censorship. Popular in his day, Sleptsov's contemporaries Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov praised his writing:, with Chekhov once remarkeding, "Sleptsov taught me, better than most, to understand the Russian intelligent, and my own self as well." The novella Hard Times is considered Sleptsov's most important work. It focused popular attention on the radical and liberal movements through its fictional setting, where the characters contend with constantly evolving political and social dilemmas. Hard Times was immediately recognized as a vibrant and compelling depiction of prerevolutionary Russian intellectual society, full of lively debates about the possibilities of liberal reform or radical revolution that questioned the viability of a political system facing massive social problems. This is the first English-language version of Hard Times, expertly and fluidly translated by Michael Katz. Highly readable, it provides important historical insights on the political and social climate of a volatile and transformative period in Russia history.

This volume offers two of Druzhinin's essential works in their first English translations. Polinka Saks, his most essential short novel, is an epistolary tale of a romantic triangle involving an older man, his young wife, and a dashing young prince. The husband attempts to introduce his wife to literature, art, and music, but his efforts run counter to the dominant trend of society, which forces women to become little children. The wife falls victim to the prince and realizes too late the value of the education provided by her husband. A far different tale, The Story of Aleksei Dmitrich is a complex social and psychological study of poverty, family disharmony, precocious children, and destructive self-sacrifice.

This volume offers two of Druzhinin's essential works in their first English translations. Polinka Saks, his most essential short novel, is an epistolary tale of a romantic triangle involving an older man, his young wife, and a dashing young prince. The husband attempts to introduce his wife to literature, art, and music, but his efforts run counter to the dominant trend of society, which forces women to become little children. The wife falls victim to the prince and realizes too late the value of the education provided by her husband. A far different tale, The Story of Aleksei Dmitrich is a complex social and psychological study of poverty, family disharmony, precocious children, and destructive self-sacrifice.