Wow! eBook
St. Petersburg
Author(s): Bradley D. Woodworth (Author), Constance E. Richards (Author), Harold Bloom (Introduction)
- Publisher: Chelsea House Pub
- Publication Date: January 1, 2005
- Language: English
- Print length: 137 pages
- ISBN-10: 079107837X
- ISBN-13: 9780791078372
Book Description
Often called the "Venice of the North," St. Petersburg has remained the crown jewel of the Russian artistic scene. Writers covered include Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, and Aleksandr Pushkin.
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 11 Up–The focus of this book is on the role of sites in St. Petersburg and specific aspects of the city in the works of writers from the Golden Age of Russian literature through the Silver Age, and even its importance to recent poets. Thus, there are chapters on Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoevsky, as well as one devoted to leading literary figures of the 20th century. Carefully selected quotes from literary works convey well the relevance of the city, and the authors make abundant use of the writings of the best literary critics to interpret the works themselves. In addition, historical, socioeconomic, and cultural information is skillfully woven into this elegantly written text. An added bonus for anyone planning to visit the city is a section on places of interest that have been mentioned. Eight pages of photographs appear in the middle of the book; they are mainly portraits of the writers, so readers may want to have an architectural history of the city on hand, such as Dmitri Shvidkovskys St. Petersburg (Abbeville, 1996) to complement this excellent book. An occasional typo was allowed to slip by and, in a few cases, the authors used unnecessarily esoteric vocabulary such as trottoirs (the French and Russian word for sidewalks). This is a solid purchase for schools in which Russian language and history courses are offered, and it would be a welcome addition for anyone planning a trip to Russia.–Elizabeth Talbot, University of Illinois, Champaign
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
