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Наталья, боярская дочь

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В повести "Наталья, боярская дочь" Н.М.Карамзин изображает старую Русь, быт и нравы того времени.

96 pages

First published January 1, 1792

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About the author

Nikolay Karamzin

302 books43 followers
Father of Nikolay Mikhaylovich Karamzin ( Николай Михайлович Карамзин ) served as an officer in the Russian army. He was sent to Moscow to study under Swiss-German teacher Johann Matthias Schaden; he later moved to Saint Petersburg, where he made the acquaintance of Dmitriev, a Russian poet of some merit, and occupied himself with translating essays by foreign writers into his native language. After residing for some time in Saint Petersburg he went to Simbirsk, where he lived in retirement until induced to revisit Moscow. There, finding himself in the midst of the society of learned men, he again took to literary work.

In 1789, he resolved to travel, and visited Germany, France, Switzerland and England. On his return he published his Letters of a Russian Traveller, which met with great success. These letters, modelled after Irish-born Poet, Laurence Sterne´s , (1713 – 1768), Sentimental Journey, were first printed in the Moscow Journal, which he edited, but were later collected and issued in six volumes (1797-1801).

In the same periodical Karamzin also published translations from French and some original stories, including Poor Liza and Natalia the Boyar's Daughter (both 1792). These stories introduced Russian readers to sentimentalism, and Karamzin was hailed as "a Russian Sterne".


In 1794, Karamzin abandoned his literary journal and published a miscellany in two volumes entitled Aglaia, in which appeared, among other stories, The Island of Bornholm and Ilya Muromets, the latter a story based on the adventures of the well-known hero of many a Russian legend. From 1797 to 1799 he issued another miscellany or poetical almanac, The Aonides, in conjunction with Derzhavin and Dmitriev. In 1798 he compiled The Pantheon, a collection of pieces from the works of the most celebrated authors ancient and modern, translated into Russian. Many of his lighter productions were subsequently printed by him in a volume entitled My Trifles. Admired by Alexander Pushkin and Vladimir Nabokov, the style of his writings is elegant and flowing, modelled on the easy sentences of the French prose writers rather than the long periodical paragraphs of the old Slavonic school.

In 1802 and 1803 Karamzin edited the journal the European Messenger (Vestnik Evropy). It was not until after the publication of this work that he realized where his strength lay, and commenced his 12 volume History of the Russian State. In order to accomplish the task, he secluded himself for two years at Simbirsk, the Volga river town where Vladimir Ilych Ulyanov, a.k.a. Lenin, (1870 - 1924), was born. This town was known then, after Lenin, for some 60 years as Ulianovsk, while Saint Petersburg became Leningrad till around 1990.

When emperor Alexander learned the cause of his retirement, Karamzin was invited to Tver, where he read to the emperor the first eight volumes of his history. He was a strong supporter of the anti-Polish policies of the Russian Empire, and expressed hope that there would be no Poland under any shape or name In 1816 he removed to St Petersburg, where he spent the happiest days of his life, enjoying the favour of Alexander I and submitting to him the sheets of his great work, which the emperor read over with him in the gardens of the palace of Tsarskoye Selo.

He did not, however, live to carry his work further than the eleventh volume, terminating it at the accession of Michael Romanov in 1613. He died on the 22nd of May (old style) 1826, in the Taurida palace. A monument was erected to his memory at Simbirsk in 1845.

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Nicoletta.
170 reviews1 follower
September 26, 2025
... комментарий рассказчика: «так, красавицы! ваша жизнь с некоторых лет не может быть счастлива, если течет она, как уединенная река в пустыне, а без милого пастушка целый свет для вас пустыня, и веселые голоса подруг, веселые голоса птичек кажутся вам печальными отзывами уединенной скуки. напрасно, обманывая самих себя, хотите вы пустоту души своей наполнить чувствами девической дружбы, напрасно избираете лучшую из подруг своих в  предмет нежных побуждений вашего сердца!»

махом обесценить женскую дружбу и считать жизнь девушки "без милого пастушка" мрачной и бессмысленной? могём, чё 🙃🙃🙃
Profile Image for Trounin.
2,027 reviews45 followers
February 18, 2019
Прошлое Карамзина затеряно в былом. Уже его фамилия – это напоминание о нерусском происхождении предков. Так это или не так? Человек сам должен писать собственную историю, не обращая внимания на прочее мнение. А ещё лучше создать красивую легенду, чем Николай и занимался, сочиняя произведение “Наталья, боярская дочь”. Воедино сплелись позор на роду и грядущая слава. Было время давнее – жила тогда ещё прабабка бабки Карамзина. Довелось ей хлебнуть несчастий, дабы заслужить почёт. И вроде нет в повествовании татарских мотивов, однако не обошлось без участия магометан.

(c) Trounin
Profile Image for Anastasia.
1,275 reviews178 followers
May 1, 2017
*Read for class.
4.75/5
Never thought I'd be so happy that there was a happy ending in a classical, old story like this. I was afraid someone was going to die, considering the two previous Karamzin's works I've read recently.

This one was really good, I think it's my favourite book by this author. I rarely give classics such high ratings, cause usually it's pretty hard for me to read and understand, but this was truly amazing and touching. Never would've picked it up if not for my Russian literature class in university. So glad I did!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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