A01=Alexander Fomich Veltman
Author_Alexander Fomich Veltman
Category=DNT
Category=FBC
Category=FYB
dostoevsky
eastern europe
Eastern European fiction
eq_anthologies-novellas-short-stories
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_classics
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
fiction
literature
novel
russia
slavic
tolstoy
Product details
- ISBN 9780810149328
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 156 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 15 Nov 2025
- Publisher: Northwestern University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Five tales of social satire from a forgotten sensation of nineteenth-century Russian literature
In 1830s and '40s Russia, A. F. Veltman's eccentric writings were a fixture on the bookshelves of the reading public. In his era, his work influenced writers including Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoevsky. The five stories collected here, united by themes of social satire, display Veltman's characteristic pivots between the tragic, comic, and grotesque.
'Erotida' riffs on the genre of the society tale with linguistic puns and a bizarre plot resolution. In 'Roland the Furious,' provincial officials mistake a traveler for a high-ranking government. 'Travel Impressions, and, among Other Things, a Pot of Geraniums' plays on the travelogue genre and includes what may be the first description in Russian literature of journey by railroad. “ A Traveler from the Provinces or, A Commotion in the Capital” parodies the Moscow literary salons of Veltman's day. Finally, 'It's Not a House, but a Plaything!' toys with yet another storytelling convention of the time - the Russian folkloric tradition of 'house spirits.'
In 1830s and '40s Russia, A. F. Veltman's eccentric writings were a fixture on the bookshelves of the reading public. In his era, his work influenced writers including Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoevsky. The five stories collected here, united by themes of social satire, display Veltman's characteristic pivots between the tragic, comic, and grotesque.
'Erotida' riffs on the genre of the society tale with linguistic puns and a bizarre plot resolution. In 'Roland the Furious,' provincial officials mistake a traveler for a high-ranking government. 'Travel Impressions, and, among Other Things, a Pot of Geraniums' plays on the travelogue genre and includes what may be the first description in Russian literature of journey by railroad. “ A Traveler from the Provinces or, A Commotion in the Capital” parodies the Moscow literary salons of Veltman's day. Finally, 'It's Not a House, but a Plaything!' toys with yet another storytelling convention of the time - the Russian folkloric tradition of 'house spirits.'
Alexander Fomich Veltman (1800-1870) was a popular and influential writer in his own time whose experimental works range from prose to poetry and realism to fantasy, including time-travel fiction. He was a friend of Pushkin, and his novels were praised by both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. His novel The Wanderer is also published by Northwestern University Press.
James J. Gebhard was professor of Slavic and East European languages at Pennsylvania State University.
James J. Gebhard was professor of Slavic and East European languages at Pennsylvania State University.
