is the first novel of the major Russian writer Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883). A reader innocent of nineteenth-century Russian literature, save for a vague pre-conception that it consisted principally of very long works, might be surprised by the modest length of
Rudin, which, in scale, conforms to the Russian sub-genre of the
povest’– a short novel or novella. This is a form, which, by trial and error, Turgenev was to make his own. By the time he wrote
Rudin, in 1855, Turgenev had succeeded as a short story writer, attracting critical acclaim and Tsarist disapproval, for his humanitarian tales,
Zapiski okhotnika[
A Sportsman’s Sketches; or
Notes from a Hunter’s Album], and had abandoned a projected long novel, the provisional title of which –
Two Generations– suggests its…
2650 words
Citation: Turton, Glyn. "Rudin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 March 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11249, accessed 21 November 2024.]
