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by Nikolay Teleshov, Николай Телешов

The subject of these delightful reminiscences is Russian literary life during the last two decades of the nineteenth century and the opening year of the twentieth. N. Teleshov, one of the veteran Soviet writers, was the friend of many of the best-known literary and artistic figures of his day, and his book includes fascinating portraits of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorki, Upsensky, Andreyev and a host of lesser known writers; also of the great men of the theatre such as Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchehnko; the painters Repin, Surikov, and Levitan; musicians and singers such as Rachmaninoff and Chaliapine. He was present at the famous Moscow presentation of The Seagull after its initial failure at Petersburg, and at the first night of Gorki's Lower Depths. His own activities were legion. He was the founder of the Sreda, the famous literary circle which gave rise to the journal Znanie (Knowledge) and the celebrated Moscow Writers' Publishing House sponsored by the progressive writers of the day, including Gorki and Chekhov. On Chekhov's advice he visited Eastern Siberia to report on the scandalous conditions of the free settlers neglected by the Tsarist Government. He played no small part in the founding of the Moscow Art Theatre, in addition to which he was making a name for himself as a writer.'

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Nikolai Dmitrievich Teleshov - Russian writer, poet, organizer of the famous circle of Moscow writers "Wednesday" (1899-1916), hereditary honorary citizen of Moscow, honored art worker of the RSFSR (1938).

Russian writer Nikolai Dmitrievich Teleshov was born into a Moscow merchant family in 1867. His ancestors were serfs of the Vladimir province, who were independently redeemed at will. Nicholas started reading and literature early. As a twelve-year-old teenager in 1880, he witnessed the grandiose Pushkin celebrations in Moscow: the grand opening of the monument to the poet, speeches by Dostoevsky, Turgenev, and others. A little earlier, at the age of ten, Nikolai got acquainted with the process of the creation of the book in the printing house of ID Sytin. Over time, the need arose to join the literary process myself. Business ties and friendship with Sytin will accompany Nikolai all his life. He later received a good education at the Moscow Practical Commercial Academy, from which he graduated in 1884.