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Princess Nina #1
Княжна Джаваха
Это четыре истории о девочках, живших в России сто лет назад и прихотью судьбы связанных друг с другом.
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1903
About the author
Lidia Charskaya
219 books11 followersLidia Alekseyevna Charskaya (Russian: Лидия Алексеевна Чарская) was a Russian writer and actress. Charskaya was her pseudonym; her real last name was Churilova.
Charskaya worked as an actress at the Alexandrinsky Theatre from 1898 to 1924. From 1901 to 1916 she published about eighty books, several of which became bestsellers. Her most popular work was the novel Princess Dzhavakha (1903).[1] In the 1940s, when Boris Pasternak was writing his novel Doctor Zhivago, he said that he was "writing almost like Charskaya", because he wanted to be accessible and dreamed that his prose would be gulped down "even by a seamstress, even by a dishwasher."
Her novels fall into four general categories: stories that take place in boarding schools for elite girls; historical novels about women; autobiographical novels that follow the heroine from boarding school to a career; and detective and adventure stories. The main theme of most of her works is friendship among girls. The protagonists are usually independent girls and women who look for adventure or some kind of diversion from the everyday routine. Critics have commented that these characteristics account in large part for the wide popularity of Charskaya's works among young girls in early 20th century Russia.
Charskaya's reputation began to fade in 1912 after the critic Korney Chukovsky published an article in which he wrote that her books were formulaic, repetitious, and excessive with respect to female emotions. She stopped publishing in 1916, and in 1920 her works were banned. From 1924 until her death in 1938 she lived in poverty, supported mostly by friends. Throughout the Soviet period her work was lowly regarded, although there is plenty of evidence that young girls continued secretly to read her works, at least through the 1930s. In the late 1980s and 1990s Charskaya's works were revived in Russia, as several of her works appeared in new editions.
Charskaya worked as an actress at the Alexandrinsky Theatre from 1898 to 1924. From 1901 to 1916 she published about eighty books, several of which became bestsellers. Her most popular work was the novel Princess Dzhavakha (1903).[1] In the 1940s, when Boris Pasternak was writing his novel Doctor Zhivago, he said that he was "writing almost like Charskaya", because he wanted to be accessible and dreamed that his prose would be gulped down "even by a seamstress, even by a dishwasher."
Her novels fall into four general categories: stories that take place in boarding schools for elite girls; historical novels about women; autobiographical novels that follow the heroine from boarding school to a career; and detective and adventure stories. The main theme of most of her works is friendship among girls. The protagonists are usually independent girls and women who look for adventure or some kind of diversion from the everyday routine. Critics have commented that these characteristics account in large part for the wide popularity of Charskaya's works among young girls in early 20th century Russia.
Charskaya's reputation began to fade in 1912 after the critic Korney Chukovsky published an article in which he wrote that her books were formulaic, repetitious, and excessive with respect to female emotions. She stopped publishing in 1916, and in 1920 her works were banned. From 1924 until her death in 1938 she lived in poverty, supported mostly by friends. Throughout the Soviet period her work was lowly regarded, although there is plenty of evidence that young girls continued secretly to read her works, at least through the 1930s. In the late 1980s and 1990s Charskaya's works were revived in Russia, as several of her works appeared in new editions.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 22, 2018
Книга из детства, которую я почти не помнила, поэтому читала как в первый раз. Люблю повести для юношества за их искренность (хотя Чарскую много ругали за неправдоподобные выражения чувств героев), за выступающие на первый план дружбу, честность и отвагу. Если у вас есть одиннадцатилетняя дочь, эта книга - для неё.
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June 8, 2020Many elements were familiar from other 19th/early 20th century kidlit: dead mother and doting father, the death scene where a spoiled sickly cousin transforms into a pure angel before giving up the ghost, a mild adventure, False Accusation at School...
On the other hand, while our protagonist Nina is of course an Orthodox Christian, the treatment of Muslim characters and ethnically Other characters was far more tolerant than I'm used to from Anglo-American books of this same era. There's a metric fuck-ton of Orientalism everywhere: Nina is Georgian, although her father's princely family has been Russianized for several generation, and self-describes as a "passionate Easterner", and it's all much more intensely in that vein with respect to the Armenian and Tatar peoples around her. I believe -- although I have to confess that I don't know -- that Charskaya was writing from and for the imperial Russian metropole and that the exoticism of the Caucasus is the point. Still, it's a much more tolerant and generous form of incorporating the exotic margins of empire for the entertainment of the metropole than I'm used to.
(Try to imagine a popular American children's novel from 1905 about, say, a girl whose father is from an old Spanish-Californian family and mother is Native American, who self-narrates with complete pride and confidence in the languages, landscapes, and cultures she has grown up with and who, when she goes to school "back East" faces no prejudice from teachers, no assumption that she will need to unlearn "bad" cultural habits, and only superficial insults from asshole fellow-students who are clearly shown by the narrative to be wrong and also bullies who need to learn a lesson. Anyway. I've read a lot of terrible Anglo-American girls' stories from this period, and I cannot imagine this, but it's basically the plot of Little Princess Nina.)
On the other hand, while our protagonist Nina is of course an Orthodox Christian, the treatment of Muslim characters and ethnically Other characters was far more tolerant than I'm used to from Anglo-American books of this same era. There's a metric fuck-ton of Orientalism everywhere: Nina is Georgian, although her father's princely family has been Russianized for several generation, and self-describes as a "passionate Easterner", and it's all much more intensely in that vein with respect to the Armenian and Tatar peoples around her. I believe -- although I have to confess that I don't know -- that Charskaya was writing from and for the imperial Russian metropole and that the exoticism of the Caucasus is the point. Still, it's a much more tolerant and generous form of incorporating the exotic margins of empire for the entertainment of the metropole than I'm used to.
(Try to imagine a popular American children's novel from 1905 about, say, a girl whose father is from an old Spanish-Californian family and mother is Native American, who self-narrates with complete pride and confidence in the languages, landscapes, and cultures she has grown up with and who, when she goes to school "back East" faces no prejudice from teachers, no assumption that she will need to unlearn "bad" cultural habits, and only superficial insults from asshole fellow-students who are clearly shown by the narrative to be wrong and also bullies who need to learn a lesson. Anyway. I've read a lot of terrible Anglo-American girls' stories from this period, and I cannot imagine this, but it's basically the plot of Little Princess Nina.)
May 26, 2026
Nina Džavacha è una principessa di undici anni che vive nel Caucaso. È uno spirito libero: ama cavalcare tra i paesaggi selvaggi, indossare abiti semplici e comodi e vivere all’aria aperta senza lasciarsi imprigionare dalle convenzioni sociali.
Avevo già conosciuto Nina in "Memorie di una ragazza del collegio", ma in queste pagine entriamo davvero nella sua vita. È lei stessa ad accompagnarci tra le montagne e a farci conoscere le persone a cui vuole bene.
Attraverso i suoi occhi scopriamo non solo la sua quotidianità, ma anche il suo mondo interiore, le sue paure e suoi desideri.
La vita di Nina non è stata sempre felice, anche se è molto giovane ha già conosciuto il dolore della perdita.
Il libro è diviso in due parti: la prima, in cui Nina vive nel Caucaso con la sua famiglia, e la seconda, in cui si trasferisce a San Pietroburgo per studiare in collegio.
La vita in collegio si rivela tutt’altro che semplice. Nina affronta un periodo difficile, soprattutto a causa della lontananza dal padre e dalla sua amata terra.
Il rapporto con le altre ragazze è spesso segnato da litigi e incomprensioni, ma lei continua a dimostrarsi sincera, impulsiva e pronta a difendere la verità. Il collegio è un luogo rigido, fatto di regole severe, ma rappresenta anche uno spazio di crescita e formazione.
Questo libro racconta con grande sensibilità un frammento della vita di una protagonista indomita, capace di affrontare il cambiamento con coraggio e maturità, senza mai perdere la bontà e la generosità del suo cuore.
Avevo già conosciuto Nina in "Memorie di una ragazza del collegio", ma in queste pagine entriamo davvero nella sua vita. È lei stessa ad accompagnarci tra le montagne e a farci conoscere le persone a cui vuole bene.
Attraverso i suoi occhi scopriamo non solo la sua quotidianità, ma anche il suo mondo interiore, le sue paure e suoi desideri.
La vita di Nina non è stata sempre felice, anche se è molto giovane ha già conosciuto il dolore della perdita.
Il libro è diviso in due parti: la prima, in cui Nina vive nel Caucaso con la sua famiglia, e la seconda, in cui si trasferisce a San Pietroburgo per studiare in collegio.
La vita in collegio si rivela tutt’altro che semplice. Nina affronta un periodo difficile, soprattutto a causa della lontananza dal padre e dalla sua amata terra.
Il rapporto con le altre ragazze è spesso segnato da litigi e incomprensioni, ma lei continua a dimostrarsi sincera, impulsiva e pronta a difendere la verità. Il collegio è un luogo rigido, fatto di regole severe, ma rappresenta anche uno spazio di crescita e formazione.
Questo libro racconta con grande sensibilità un frammento della vita di una protagonista indomita, capace di affrontare il cambiamento con coraggio e maturità, senza mai perdere la bontà e la generosità del suo cuore.
January 27, 2025
Це книга, яка зачаровує своєю атмосферою та змушує поринути у вир почуттів і подій. Я читала її ще у шкільному віці, але навіть зараз із радістю повернулася б до цієї історії, щоб заново пережити хвилюючі моменти та згадати юність. У книзі є щось особливе, що западає в душу й залишає теплий слід. Вона дарує відчуття ностальгії та натхнення.
October 12, 2018
Такие книги нужно читать либо в определенном возрасте, либо с определенным настроением. Иначе все кажется очень наивным и преувеличенным.
March 5, 2022
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 очень грустная но очень хорошая книга.
November 30, 2025
Спасибо Анастасии Завозовой и Галине Юзефович за очередную отличную рекомендацию. Повесть ну очень душевная, в одном ряду с "Поллианной" и "Энн с Зелёных крыш"
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews