Three Famous Plays

by Ivan Turgenev

English, Russian (translation)

Genres: Plays, Russia, Russian Literature, 19th Century

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Cyrillic: Иван Сергеевич Тургенев) was a novelist, poet, and dramatist, and now ranks as one of the towering figures of Russian literature. His major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman’s Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862).

These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian intelligentsia who were attempting to move the country into a new age. His masterpiece, Fathers and Sons, is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.

Turgenev was a contemporary with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. While these wrote about church and religion, Turgenev was more concerned with the movement toward social reform in Russia.

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

These drawing room comedies touch on sadness: the complications of love across social class.

[Harald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love and class struggle on a Russian estate.
While the husband takes care of practical matters outside, the 29-year-old Natasha appears as the powerful landowner's wife indoors. Here she creates havoc and flights when she gets closely involved with two young men who work as tutors for her son Kolya. The unmarried women in the household are also affected and decide to accept dubious courtships to escape the powerful housewife.

Turgenev is a master at creating psychologically credible characters. This long play is probably better suited to reading than on stage, but there is a recorded version made for Norwegian TV in 1986.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Month in the Country, written in 1850, is set in the country home of Islayev and his young wife, Natalya. Using this couple, along with their friends, family, a doctor, a neighbor and a tutor Turgenev explores envy, jealousy, love and possibly just the boredom of the rich Russians. Easily understood and enjoyable. Just goes to show that not much changes.

[jimmy rostova]

just used this to log A Poor Gentleman since I read the plays separately.