Gogol: Nevsky Prospect (Russian Texts) - Softcover

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853993484 ISBN 13: 9781853993480

Publisher: Bristol Classical Press, 1998

Synopsis

Nevsky Prospect, published in 1835, is Gogol’s major contribution to the ‘Petersburg’ theme in Russian literature, a theme taken up and developed by Dostoevsky, Blok, Zamiatin and many others. By day, Nevsky Prospect, the capital’s main thoroughfare, is thronged with people from all sections of Petersburg society. After dusk it is the haunt of prostitutes and the Devil holds sway. Gogol’s story, which he eventually includes in the 'Petersburg' cycle of tales, is ostensibly two stories in one, linked by the slimmest of threads: the tragic tale of the flippant philanderer Pirogov. In the final paragraphs, another theme emerges: the struggle between Good and Evil or – in Gogol’s terms - between Beauty and the Devil.

Nevsky Prospect epitomizes much of what has come to be termed Gogolian, the inimitable prose style, the love hate relationship with Petersburg, and above all the preoccupation with poshlost (vulgar pretentiousness) in all its manifold forms.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Pursglove is Senior Lecturer in Russian, University of Exeter, UK.

From the Back Cover

The theatrical genius of Nikolay Gogol has gone largely unappreciated by English-speaking audiences because pedantically literal translations have left his plays virtually unperformable. These fresh translations restore the vitality of Gogol's language and humor, finally allowing his dramatic art to speak directly to Western readers, directors, actors, and theater-goers. This volume contains The Government Inspector and Marriage - Gogol's greatest full-length plays, comedic cornerstones of the Russian theatrical repertoire - and a one-act satire, The Gamblers. Also included are writings on theater from Gogol's notebooks and correspondences.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853993484
• ISBN 13: 9781853993480
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96