Alexander Pushkin's
Povesti Pokoinogo Ivana Petrovicha Belkina[
The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin] (to give them their full title, or simply
The Tales of Belkin) were written in late summer of 1830 on the author's remote estate of Boldino, where he had become stranded because of a cholera outbreak. Published the following year, they consist of an introductory note (“From the Publisher”) and five short stories, the whole collection amounting to about 20,000 words.
Pushkin decided to publish them anonymously, partly in order to avoid the censor's eye – while not exactly subversive they do exude the kind of democratic spirit that might have got him into trouble – but perhaps also because he was a little unsure of himself, these being his first completed prose works. Even
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Citation: Briggs, A.D.P.. "Povesti Belkina". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11205, accessed 21 November 2024.]
