Pushkin and Romantic Fashion: Fragment, Elegy, Orient, Irony [Paperback]

Monika Greenleaf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0804727996 | ISBN-13: 978-0804727990

This book is about the interpenetration of culture and personality, specifically Alexander I’s Russian Empire, a latecomer in post-Napoleonic European history, and Aleksandr Pushkin, virtuoso improvisor yet prisoner of the Golden Age discourses that now bear his name.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is one of those rare books that both present new material (the result of extensive research) and new understanding (the result of intensive and luminous thought). . . . It is a major contribution.”—William Mills Todd III, Harvard University

“Greenleaf’s notes demonstrate her impressive research in an unusually broad range of sources. . . . If all interpretations are contingently valid, few are more powerfully and sensitively argued than Greenleaf’s.”—Choice

From the Back Cover

“This is one of those rare books that both present new material (the result of extensive research) and new understanding (the result of intensive and luminous thought). . . . It is a major contribution.”—William Mills Todd III, Harvard University
“Greenleaf’s notes demonstrate her impressive research in an unusually broad range of sources. . . . If all interpretations are contingently valid, few are more powerfully and sensitively argued than Greenleaf’s.”—Choice

Product Details

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804727996
• ISBN-13: 978-0804727990
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarship at its finest, October 16, 2002

By 

Lindsey Roche (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pushkin and Romantic Fashion: Fragment, Elegy, Orient, Irony (Paperback)

This is the best piece of literary criticism I have read on a Russian author, and definitely one of the best pieces in lit studies in general. Greenleaf is sophisticated yet remarkably clear and persuasive. And the book is not just useful for readers of Pushkin; I would argue that any lit student should read some of this, to get a sense of how genre figures into literary analysis. I loved it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb and beautifully written book., February 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pushkin and Romantic Fashion: Fragment, Elegy, Orient, Irony (Paperback)

This book received major awards from both the modern language association (MLA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. It is best described by the citation from the MLA judges: "In a volume whose elegant style and civilized irony are a loving critical tribute to Russia's 'national poet,' Monika Greenleaf confronts Pushkin's protean nature with exhaustive comparative research, independent- minded recourse to contemporary critical theory, unfailing fairness to her scholarly predecessors, and a sharp eye for the details and patterns of Pushkin's major and minor texts. Her notion of 'self-portraiture' allows her to join readings of Pushkin's work, culture, and biography together in a subtle, persuasive whole that is sure to be a landmark in Russian studies for years to come."