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Russian Short Stories
This selection represents the best of pre-Revolutionary Russian literature, includes stories by Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Korolenko, Chehov, Maxim Gorky, and others. Human aspiration and social improvement elevate these stories enlivened by an idiomatic sense of comedy; this edition also allows readers to discover the delightful narrative skills of little-known writers such as Korolenko, Kupin and Chirinov.
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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About the author
John Bayley
114 books23 followersProfessor John Bayley CBE, FBA, FRSL was a British literary critic and writer.
Bayley was born in Lahore, British India, and educated at Eton, where he studied under G. W. Lyttelton, who also taught Aldous Huxley, J.B.S. Haldane, George Orwell and Cyril Connolly. After leaving Eton, he went on to take a degree at New College, Oxford. From 1974 to 1992, Bayley was Warton Professor of English at Oxford. He is also a novelist and writes literary criticism for several newspapers. He edited Henry James' The Wings of the Dove and a two-volume selection of James' short stories.
From 1956 until her death in 1999, he was married to the writer Dame Iris Murdoch. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he wrote the book Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch, which was made into the 2001 film Iris by Richard Eyre. In this film, Bayley was portrayed in his early years by Hugh Bonneville, and in his later years by Jim Broadbent, who won an Oscar for the performance. After Murdoch's death he married Audi Villers, a family friend. He was awarded the CBE in 1999.
Bayley was born in Lahore, British India, and educated at Eton, where he studied under G. W. Lyttelton, who also taught Aldous Huxley, J.B.S. Haldane, George Orwell and Cyril Connolly. After leaving Eton, he went on to take a degree at New College, Oxford. From 1974 to 1992, Bayley was Warton Professor of English at Oxford. He is also a novelist and writes literary criticism for several newspapers. He edited Henry James' The Wings of the Dove and a two-volume selection of James' short stories.
From 1956 until her death in 1999, he was married to the writer Dame Iris Murdoch. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he wrote the book Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch, which was made into the 2001 film Iris by Richard Eyre. In this film, Bayley was portrayed in his early years by Hugh Bonneville, and in his later years by Jim Broadbent, who won an Oscar for the performance. After Murdoch's death he married Audi Villers, a family friend. He was awarded the CBE in 1999.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 28, 2025
not a massive Short story fan, but enjoyed reading pushkin and gogol to consolidate my understanding of Russian literature.
December 12, 2017
Uneven at places, obviously, given it's an assortment of stories by different authors. Yet, every Russian author in the 19th century understood the human condition much better than all other writers across all centuries.
June 26, 2024
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews