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Romans en Verhalen
Verhalen over het volksleven in Rusland in de 19e eeuw.
- GenresRussia
855 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Nikolai Leskov
592 books212 followersalso:
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).
Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.
Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).
Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.
Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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February 5, 2017Novels and stories by Nikolai Leskov (1831-1895), published in the fine quality of India-paper by Van Oorschot, as one of the volumes in the publisher's 'Russian Library'.
feb3-feb4, 2017: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (in Dutch 'De lady Macbeth uit het district Mtsensk', 1865) 4*
Why is this story so well-known? The composer Dmitri Shostakovich set the story to music, and this opera had a huge success from 1934 on, until Stalin banned it in 1936, letting the Prawda say: it is chaos, not music (Mozart got a much nicer treatment by his employer, after Mozart's rival Salieri had whispered in the monarch's ear - according to the film Amadeus - and the monarch uttering in public: 'too many notes, Mr. Mozart).
I have been reading this story in the aftermath of reading 'The noise of time', a novel by Julian Barnes, followed by a biography of Shostakovich.
Leskov writes about ordinairy people, describing just the way they act. This is unlike some other famous Russian writers, e.g. Tolstoj, who had worked with ideas, ideals, philosophies as the main motto in his novels.
The story of Katerina Lvovna Izmajlova begins with pure boredom, but gets pretty emotional and hectic. Katerina reveals herself as being quite manipulative with a kind of behaviour and actions you would normally not have expected of a lower class woman who had accepted to get married 'higher up'. A wonderfully exploited phantasy. During the rest of this year I will read the rest of this volume (a total of 855 pages).
feb3-feb4, 2017: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (in Dutch 'De lady Macbeth uit het district Mtsensk', 1865) 4*
Why is this story so well-known? The composer Dmitri Shostakovich set the story to music, and this opera had a huge success from 1934 on, until Stalin banned it in 1936, letting the Prawda say: it is chaos, not music (Mozart got a much nicer treatment by his employer, after Mozart's rival Salieri had whispered in the monarch's ear - according to the film Amadeus - and the monarch uttering in public: 'too many notes, Mr. Mozart).
I have been reading this story in the aftermath of reading 'The noise of time', a novel by Julian Barnes, followed by a biography of Shostakovich.
Leskov writes about ordinairy people, describing just the way they act. This is unlike some other famous Russian writers, e.g. Tolstoj, who had worked with ideas, ideals, philosophies as the main motto in his novels.
The story of Katerina Lvovna Izmajlova begins with pure boredom, but gets pretty emotional and hectic. Katerina reveals herself as being quite manipulative with a kind of behaviour and actions you would normally not have expected of a lower class woman who had accepted to get married 'higher up'. A wonderfully exploited phantasy. During the rest of this year I will read the rest of this volume (a total of 855 pages).
June 3, 2017
Ik las enkel "De lady Macbeth uit het district Mtsensk" (p. 359-410) omdat ik een tijdje geleden de film "Lady Macbeth" zag en het bronmateriaal wel eens wou lezen.
Het moet gezegd: in dit geval vond ik de film pakken beter. Zeker het einde, dat totaal verschillend is van het boek.
Het moet gezegd: in dit geval vond ik de film pakken beter. Zeker het einde, dat totaal verschillend is van het boek.
November 30, 2013
Prachtige (lange)verhalen en een roman in 1 band. Ljeskow heeft niet de bekendheid van een Tolstoi of Dostojewski maar is zeer de moeite waard. Zijn bekendste verhalen: de Lady Macbeth uit het district Mtsensk (Shostakovich componeerde er een opera naar) en de betoverde zwerver. Als laatste las ik zijn roman Het Kapittel over de lotgevallen van 3 geestelijken uit Stargorod. Een fascinerend relaas, dat naarmate je er beter in komt, steeds meer gaat boeien. Een bont scala van Tsjechoviaanse, typisch Russische figuren.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews