Libmonster is the largest world open library, repository of author's heritage and archive

Register & start to create your original collection of articles, books, research, biographies, photographs, files. It's convenient and free. Click here to register as an author. Share with the world your works!
Libmonster ID: COM-32
Author(s) of the publication: Igor Zakharov

Share this article with friends


"Russians in England" (Russkiye v Angliye) may be an unprepossessing title for a book, but it was hailed as "the publishing event of the week" by the Ex Libris weekly journal. This large-format, 416-page book by Olga Kaznina, a scholar with the Academic Institute of World Literature in Moscow, has the weighty subtitle "Emigration in the Context of Russian-English Literary Bonds in the First Half of the 20th Century," and contains a wealth of information about the everyday life of Russian intellectuals in Britain in the first half of the century.

Kaznina immersed herself for several years in the archives of Oxford and the University of Leeds, and the Bakhmetev Archive at Columbia University, as well as delving into Russian sources. It was time well spent: She managed to find lots of new material about many first-rank Russian authors, including Yevgeny Zamyatin, Anna Akhmatova and Vladimir Nabokov.

There were 100,000 Russians in Britain in the early 1920s, half of them living in London. While Russian emigres on the continent huddled in their own closed communities, those who went to Britain tended to become more deeply integrated into the culture. Many of them used English in their everyday lives, felt at home in England, and considered it their second (or even real) home.

To prove the last point, Kaznina cites Vladimir Nabokov, who was a student at Cambridge at the time: "The kind of Russian family to which I belonged a kind now extinct had, among other virtues, a traditional leaning toward the comfortable products of Anglo-Saxon civilization. Pears' Soap, tar-black when dry, topaz-like when held to the light between wet fingers, took care of one's morning bath. ...] All sorts of snug, mellow things came in a steady procession from the English Shop on Nevski Avenue: fruitcakes, smelling salts, playing cards, picture puzzles, striped blazers, talcum-white tennis balls. ... I learned to read English before I could read Russian."

The first part of the book deals with a dozen Russian organizations in London, from the 1917 Bratstvo/Fraternity to the North Russian Association, Ltd. It is also devoted to many famous Russian politicians, journalists and clergymen who lived in Britain.

The second part describes the role of Russian scholars in British universities, and the third, and by far the longest, consists of 18 biographical essays about famous Russian writers in England. Among them are the poet Nikolai Gumilyov, later executed by the Cheka, the "Red Count" Alexei Tolstoy, Vladimir Nabokov, Ivan Bunin, Marina Tsvetayeva and Nikolai Roerich, among others.

The book, published in conjunction with the Naslediye Publishing House, is a bargain at the ruble equivalent of $5.


© libmonster.com

Permanent link to this publication:

https://libmonster.com/m/articles/view/BOOKWORM-A-Unique-Look-at-Russians-Abroad-Russians-in-England

Similar publications: LRussia LWorld Y G


Publisher:

Libmonster OnlineContacts and other materials (articles, photo, files etc)

Author's official page at Libmonster: https://libmonster.com/Libmonster

Find other author's materials at: Libmonster (all the World)GoogleYandex

Permanent link for scientific papers (for citations):

Igor Zakharov, BOOKWORM: A Unique Look at Russians Abroad ("Russians in England") // London: Libmonster (LIBMONSTER.COM). Updated: 19.09.2017. URL: https://libmonster.com/m/articles/view/BOOKWORM-A-Unique-Look-at-Russians-Abroad-Russians-in-England (date of access: 30.03.2023).

Found source (search robot):


Publication author(s) - Igor Zakharov:

Igor Zakharov → other publications, search: Libmonster United KingdomLibmonster WorldGoogleYandex


Comments:



Reviews of professional authors
Order by: 
Per page: 
 
  • There are no comments yet
Related topics
Publisher
Libmonster Online
New-York, United States
760 views rating
19.09.2017 (2017 days ago)
0 subscribers
Rating
0 votes
Related Articles
ИСТОРИЯ В ДОКУМЕНТАХ. Русские в англо-бурской войне
Catalog: History 
5 days ago · From Libmonster Online
ДРК. НЬИРАГОНГО ПРОСНУЛСЯ...
Catalog: Tourism and travel 
5 days ago · From Libmonster Online
Война с террором
Catalog: Other 
7 days ago · From Libmonster Online
Австралия вчера и сегодня
Catalog: Geography 
7 days ago · From Libmonster Online
ШАОЛИНЬ - монастырь, в котором изучают ушу
9 days ago · From Libmonster Online
Шереметевы живут в Марокко
Catalog: Geography 
9 days ago · From Libmonster Online
ЮАР. Татуировка снова в моде
Catalog: Art history 
9 days ago · From Libmonster Online
ТУНИС спешит в будущее
Catalog: Economics 
9 days ago · From Libmonster Online
Одиссея барона Унгерна
Catalog: Geography 
13 days ago · From Libmonster Online
ОКЕАНИЯ. НАДЕЖДЫ И РАЗОЧАРОВАНИЯ
Catalog: Geography 
13 days ago · From Libmonster Online


Actual publications:

Latest ARTICLES:

Libmonster is the largest world open library, repository of author's heritage and archive

Register & start to create your original collection of articles, books, research, biographies, photographs, files. It's convenient and free. Click here to register as an author. Share with the world your works!
BOOKWORM: A Unique Look at Russians Abroad ("Russians in England")
 

Contacts
Watch out for new publications:

About · News · For Advertisers · Donate to Libmonster

Libmonster ® All rights reserved.
2014-2023, LIBMONSTER.COM is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map)
Keeping the heritage of the United States


LIBMONSTER NETWORK ONE WORLD - ONE LIBRARY

US-Great Britain Sweden Serbia
Russia Belarus Ukraine Kazakhstan Moldova Tajikistan Estonia Russia-2 Belarus-2

Create and store your author's collection at Libmonster: articles, books, studies. Libmonster will spread your heritage all over the world (through a network of branches, partner libraries, search engines, social networks). You will be able to share a link to your profile with colleagues, students, readers and other interested parties, in order to acquaint them with your copyright heritage. After registration at your disposal - more than 100 tools for creating your own author's collection. It is free: it was, it is and always will be.

Download app for smartphones