Turgenev

The life and times of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev were rich and varied. Born into the Russian nobility, he became one of the most celebrated Russian writers in an age that boasted the achievements of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Set against the important political and social events of the era, this biography explores Turgenev's relationships with many distinguished figures, such as Flaubert, Henry James, Belinksy and George Sand, as well as his lifelong devotion to the French singer Pauline Viardot. Turgenev's stories and novels, from "Sketches from a Sportsman's Notebook" to "Fathers and Children" and "Virgin Soil", are discussed in the context of his developing political and social awareness.