Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran - Softcover

Kelly, Laurence

3.83

18 ratings by Goodreads

9781845111960: Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845111966 ISBN 13: 9781845111960

Publisher: Barbara Ward & Associates, 2006

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When a Tehran mob broke into the Russian embassy and murdered all the diplomats there, the dead included one of the most brilliant and promising writers of 19th-century Russia. In this first biography of Griboyedov in English, Laurence Kelly paints a vivid picture of his remarkable literary and diplomatic gifts which were nevertheless overshadowed by ill-fortune. He narrowly escaped punishment for involvement with the 1825 Decembrist plot to overthrow the Tsarist state. After this he was despatched to Georgia and Iran, to further Russia's expansionist agenda in the Caucasus and beyond. But while in Tehran Griboyedov fell foul of the zealous mobs. This book makes an invaluable contribution to the diplomatic history of Russia, the Caucasus and Iran at the same time illuminating the life and works of a writer who was among 19th-century Russia's most respected and prominent writers.

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Review:

""Kelly's highly readable and enjoyable book is the first biography in English of this intriguing figure.""--Jan Dalley, Financial Times
""Laurence Kelly, the prize-winning author of a life of Lermontov, has spent many years delving into Russian and Persian archives and found hitherto uncovered telling details. But he wears his meticulous scholarship lightly and tells a riveting tale that reads like a Russian novel.""--Shusha Guppy, Times Higher Educational Supplement
""The subject is brilliant and multi-faceted. Both Griboyedov's life and death make for an extraordinary tale.""--Moscow Times
""The exotic life of a supremely talented but (in the West) little-known Russian. A well-told, informative tale, contemporary relevance -- what more could the reader ask?""--George Walden, Sunday Telegraph
""My book of the year is Laurence Kelly's Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran...""--Sir Raymond Carr, The Spectator
""Groboyedov's life sounds like a tall story, a heroic myth. Here, it has been investigated with exemplary thoroughness, retold with a fine sense of tact and restraint.""--Philip Hensher, The Spectator
""Laurence Kelly must be congratulated on finding such a dramatic story and telling it in such a lively style. Anyone with even a casual interest in Russian history will be gripped, and moved, by this book."" --John Jolliffe, The Tablet

About the Author:

Laurence Kelly is the author of a distinguished biography of Lermontov. He has studied and lived in Russia.

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