The Queen of Spades and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alexander Pushkin (Author), Rosemary Edmonds (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2005

The Queen of Spades, one of his most popular and chilling short stories, tells of an inveterate card player who develops a dangerous obsession with the secret of an old lady's luck, which he believes will bring him the wealth he craves. The Negro of Peter the Great, a story based on the life Pushkin's own great-grandfather, is a vivid depiction - and criticism - of both French and Russian society, while Dubrovsky is the Byronic tale of a dispossessed young officer. The Captain's Daughter tells of a young man sent to military service - based on the actual events of the rebellion against Catherine II, it demonstrates Pushkin's unparalleled skill at blending fiction and history. Together these four stories display the versatility and innovation that earned Pushkin his reputation as a master of prose and established him as the towering figure in Russian literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`He is a great story-teller, the Toby Litt of his day, you might say, and this translation knocks all the others I have seen (two) into a cocked hat. Terrific.' Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian

`The Queen of Spades is surely Pushkin's prose masterpiece, one of the greatest short stories ever written and the source of Tchaikovsky's opera.' The Irish Times (Dublin) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140441190
• ISBN-13: 978-0140441192
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Teachers (and others): Avoid this edition!, March 12, 2001

By 

David Shengold (Oberlin, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Queen of Spades and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I had been happy to read about a supposedly unabridged and very inexpensive edition of "Queen of Spades" and the Belkin tales, as (as a college instructor) I often assign "Queen of Spades" in courses on opera or Petersburg, or in which one would not neces sarily need the student to order a whole compilation of Pushkin's fiction, such as Norton's very solid COMPLETE PROSE TALES.

However, this edition is *far* from unabridged. The editor has taken it upon himself to cut not only ALL the epigraphs from ALL t he stories (an absurd economy which distorts the tone of these parodic stories) but also fails to provide the two-page "From the Editor" frame without which the purpose of the Belkin tales is obscured.

I would not recommend this edition even to the casua l reader who wished to get the true flavor of Pushkin's Sternean, self-referential prose works. 'eo

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Pushkin, April 15, 2006

By 

J. E. Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Queen of Spades and Other Stories : A New Translation (Paperback)

From what I can learn this present volume ISBN 0192839543 from 1999 replaces ISBN 0192832131 from 1997.That volume is almost identical but is just 273 pages versus the present. I am not clear on all the changes but the books contains similar material and identical covers.

Roughly, here is the contents:

Introduction
Bibliography
Life of Pushkin
Milestones of the Pugachev Uprising

The Puskin Stories:

Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin
- The Shot, 12 pages
- The Snowstorm, 12 pages
- The Undertaker, 7 pages
- The Stationmaster, 12 pages
- The Lady Peasant, 18 pages

The Queen of Spades, 29 pages

The Captain's Daughter: a novella, 108 pages

Peter The Great's Blackamoor, 35 pages, an unfinshed work.

Then summary Notes.

Comments:

The book contains a very long introduction to the works and has many notes at the end. In reading just the present book, you will receive a good idea of the general works of Pushkin - abbreviated - and a lot of detail on the present works.

The stories are excellent, well written, and one is instantly converted to being a Pushkin fan. I am not a literary expert but I have read works by Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc, and clearly one sees the connection in style and subject matter. It is easy to see how Tolstoy drew inspiration from these works.

The stories are grounded mostly in realism and 18th and 19th century historical events although there are romantic touches and Queen of Spades has elements of the supernatural.

Overall, these are excellent stories that bring a smile to one's face.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good translation and pleasant read for a minimum value, March 24, 2000

By 

"zara_azari" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Queen of Spades and Other Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This book is a nice (don't forget cheap) adaptation and translation of Russia's most celebrated author, A.S.Pushkin. I imagine that other editions (hardcover and so on) are extremely expensive, so this book is a good introduction into the works of a classic and exceptionally talented writer. I have read much of Pushkin in Russian language, so I can honestly say that this book is true to the originals and it is worth spending your $3 on. NOTE: To people, who know that Pushkin is considered greatest RUSSIAN (emphasis on "russian") writer and expect to find real Russia in his writings: you won't find much of it here, for the fact that Pushkin wrote mainly about his upper-class contemporaries, who (pretty much like Pushkin himself) lost touch with real Russia, hence the revolution awhile later... If you want to feel some of Pushkin's russian spirit, you should try reading his poetry instead of the short stories.