The legendary Russian biography series, The Lives of Remarkable People, has played a significant role in Russian culture from its inception in 1890 until today. The longest running biography series in world literature, it spans three centuries and widely divergent political and cultural epochs: Imperial, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Russia. The authors argue that the treatment of biographical figures in the series is a case study for continuities and changes in Russian national identity over time. Biography in Russia and elsewhere remains a most influential literary genre and the distinctive approach and branding of the series has made it the economic engine of its publisher, Molodaia gvardiia. The centrality of biographies of major literary figures in the series reflects their heightened importance in Russian culture. The contributors examine the ways that biographies of Russia's foremost writers shaped the literary canon while mirroring the political and social realities of both the subjects' and their biographers' times. Starting with Alexander Pushkin and ending with Joseph Brodsky, the authors analyze the interplay of research and imagination in biographical narrative, the changing perceptions of what constitutes literary greatness, and the subversive possibilities of biography during eras of political censorship.

After Evgeny Zamiatin emigrated from the USSR in 1931, he was systematically airbrushed out of Soviet literary history, despite the central role he had played in the cultural life of Russia's northern capital for nearly twenty years. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, his writings have gradually been rediscovered in Russia, but with his archives scattered between Russia, France, and the USA, the project of reconstructing the story of his life has been a complex task. This book, the first full biography of Zamiatin in any language, draws upon his extensive correspondence and other documents in order to provide an account of his life which explores his intimate preoccupations, as well as uncovering the political and cultural background to many of his works. It reveals a man of strong will and high principles, who negotiated the political dilemmas of his day-including his relationship with Stalin-with great shrewdness.

This volume explores the life and work of Evgeny Zamiatin, whose renown abroad has largely been shaped by his anti-utopian novel We, completed in 1919-20. After his death in 1937, he seemed fated to disappear into obscurity in the West, at the same time as he was being airbrushed out of Soviet literary history at home. George Orwell, who readily acknowledged that reading We had contributed to his own ideas for 1984, together with Professor Gleb Struve, set out to secure Zamiatin's reputation after the Second World War. It would be sixty-five years after its initial publication that the novel finally became available to Russian readers at home, at the very end of the Soviet era. Only now has We been recognized in Zamiatin's own country as a defining text, warning of the political and technological dangers of the coming century.

Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, set in Stalin's Moscow, is an intriguing work with a complex structure, wonderful comic episodes and moments of great beauty. Readers are often left tantalized but uncertain how to understand its rich meanings. To what extent is it political? Or religious? And how should we interpret the Satanic Woland? This Reader's Companion offers readers a biographical introduction, and analyses of the structure and the main themes of the novel. More curious readers will also enjoy the accounts of the novel's writing and publication history, alongside analyses of the work's astonishing linguistic complexity and a review of available English translations.

Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, set in Stalin's Moscow, is an intriguing work with a complex structure, wonderful comic episodes and moments of great beauty. Readers are often left tantalized but uncertain how to understand its rich meanings. To what extent is it political? Or religious? And how should we interpret the Satanic Woland? This Reader's Companion offers readers a biographical introduction, and analyses of the structure and the main themes of the novel. More curious readers will also enjoy the accounts of the novel's writing and publication history, alongside analyses of the work's astonishing linguistic complexity and a review of available English translations.

Published in 1987, this book was the first full-length interpretative study in English of the later writings of the outstanding Soviet novelist and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940). The focus is the 1930s, the period when Bulgakov was writing The Master and Margarita, an extraordinary novel that has had a profound impact in the Soviet Union and which is now generally regarded as his masterpiece. Using material from Soviet archives and libraries, Dr Curtis suggests that Bulgakov's fundamental preoccupation in this movel with the destiny of literature and of the writer is reflected in other major works of the same period, in particular his writings on Pushkin and Moliere. Bulgakov emerges as a belated romantic, a figure unique on the early Soviet literacy scene.

It is generally agreed that the first recorded mention of Terenure came in 1216, when Hugh de Barnewall was granted the lands of Terenure and Kimmage. Over the next 800 years, this townland reshaped itself throughout the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and grew to be the bustling metropolitan suburb it is today. Cafes, bookshops and restaurants nestle beside churches, synagogues and the wonderful amenities of Bushy Park and the River Dodder. In this new book by author and local historian Joe Curtis, the reader can explore the history and development of Terenure from its earliest days.

Mention Ringsend to any Dubliner and they will immediately talk about the iconic twin Poolbeg chimneys. They might even mention the Shelbourne Park Greyhound Stadium or the South Bull Wall. But they may need to be reminded about the former Pigeon House Fort, the Poolbeg Lighthouse, the Isolation Hospital or the Cats and Dogs Home on Grand Canal Quay. It is this and more that you will find out about within the pages of this illustrated history.

How and why does the stage, and those who perform upon it, play such a significant role in the social makeup of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus? In New Drama in Russian, Julie Curtis brings together an international team of leading scholars and practitioners to tackle this complex question. New Drama, which draws heavily on techniques of documentary and verbatim writing, is a key means of protest in the Russian-speaking world; since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, theatres, dramatists, and critics have collaborated in using the genre as a lens through which to explore a wide range of topics from human rights and state oppression to sexuality and racism. Yet surprisingly little has been written on this important theatrical movement. New Drama in Russian rectifies this. Through providing analytical surveys of this outspoken transnational genre alongside case-studies of plays and interviews with playwrights, this volume sheds much-needed light on the key issues of performance, politics, and protest in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Meticulously researched and elegantly argued, this book will be of immense value to scholars of Russian cultural history and post-Soviet literary studies.

How and why does the stage, and those who perform upon it, play such a significant role in the social makeup of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus? In New Drama in Russian, Julie Curtis brings together an international team of leading scholars and practitioners to tackle this complex question. New Drama, which draws heavily on techniques of documentary and verbatim writing, is a key means of protest in the Russian-speaking world; since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, theatres, dramatists, and critics have collaborated in using the genre as a lens through which to explore a wide range of topics from human rights and state oppression to sexuality and racism. Yet surprisingly little has been written on this important theatrical movement. New Drama in Russian rectifies this. Through providing analytical surveys of this outspoken transnational genre alongside case-studies of plays and interviews with playwrights, this volume sheds much-needed light on the key issues of performance, politics, and protest in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Meticulously researched and elegantly argued, this book will be of immense value to scholars of Russian cultural history and post-Soviet literary studies.

I believe in God, but am non-religious. I do not accept the theory of evolution, as originally proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859, and refined by modern scientists. This book sets out my core values in the first chapter, and then argues against evolution in subsequent chapters. The cover picture shows "The Big Bang."

In 1895, at the age of nineteen, Pete Haslam emigrated to America, and never saw Ireland nor his family again. He made a small fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush, and then became one of the Pioneers who founded modern Alaska. He spent a fascinating life as a gold miner, in the last frontier of Wiseman, seventy five miles north of the Arctic Circle. For generations, none of his family knew anything about Pete's life, except that Bob Marshall met him in 1930, while researching for his book "Arctic Village." Now, for the first time ever, his grand-nephew, Joe, presents this factual account of Pete's life.

Maurice Curtis was born in 1908, while Josephine Haslam was born in 1916, and during their courtship, they nicknamed each other Ferdie and Toots respectively. Ferdie narrates his story in 1947, just before he marries his sweetheart, while Toots carries on with the story after that date. Ferdie's story reflects his father's life in the Royal Irish Constabulary, especially in Limerick, and later in Dublin, and follows on with his own life in the hotel industry. Toots life on a Laois farm was more serene, although her father was not present for her birth, because he was in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during the First World War. Her nurse's training in London had just finished, when the outbreak of the Second World War forced her to return to neutral Ireland. Spending the rest of her life in Dublin, she reared six children by herself, after her beloved husband died in 1964. This is a real love story.

Blackrock is well known as an affluent and well-loved suburb of Dublin, situated on the picturesque east coast of the city. It was once an independent township, complete with Town Hall, and boasted a thriving hosiery industry, teacher training college, in addition to numerous schools, churches of all denominations, convents, hospitals, orphanages, and local shops. The spacious houses and villas catered for the professional classes who commuted to Dublin city centre by train and tram. Blackrock never fully achieved the status of a seaside resort, but still boasted outdoor swimming baths, and the banks of the railway track afforded sunbathing perches for our pale-faced city dwellers. And, of course, there was always rugby. Nowadays, Blackrock is a bustling and vibrant suburb with every modern amenity and, in this book, author Joe Curtis explores the rich history that has shaped it over time.

For many years Dundrum was just another stop on the railway between Harcourt Street and Bray; it was a village in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains that, despite its rich history, was often thought of as simply the best place to rest on a journey to Powerscourt or Enniskerry. Today it is a hugely popular hub of commerce and retail, attracting visitors from across the country. In this new book by local historian Joe Curtis, the multi-faceted past of Dundrum is explored through a vibrant collection of illustrations and historical research, much of which has been previously unpublished. What emerges is a picture of the changing face of Ireland itself.

Drogheda nestles on the east coast of Ireland, on the border of Louth and Meath. A lively medieval town, it is home to a host of contemporary music and theatre companies, an international Samba festival, and was the birthplace of many famous Irish people, including Pierce Brosnan, Steve Staunton and Shane Horgan. Drogheda also has a long and colourful history, which includes the Battle of the Boyne, sieges and massacres, earls, rebels and saints. The severed head of Saint Oliver Plunkett remains on display in St Peter's church. All of this and more is covered in Joe Curtis' comprehensive illustrated history.

Castlebar derived its name from Barry's Castle (Castle Barry), which was located in the open square of the present Army Barracks, up until the time of "The Races of Castlebar" in 1798. Later on, the Bingham family, also known as Lord Lucan, became the dominant landlord. This bustling town is the capital of County Mayo, and was provided with its own courthouse, prison, famine workhouse, asylum, hospital, four different churches, convent, monastery, schools, airport, hat factory, bacon factory, healthcare factory, hotels, shops, and numerous businesses, and the author captures life in the area with a fascinating collection of images.

Harold's Cross got its name from a cross which marked the boundary of the lands owned by the Archbishop of Dublin, and the lands of the Harold clan in the 1500s. Today Harold's Cross is a bustling thoroughfare, and although it is now a suburb on the south side of Dublin, it was once akin to the best little town in Ireland, being completely self-sufficient, with schools, churches, shops, pubs, hospital, orphanage, convents, monastery, cinema, a major cemetery, mills and factories, park, canal, large and small houses, dog track, barracks, and many farms and orchards. For its residents, it has a rich and varied history, which is beautifully captured in this book of archive photographs.

This is a title in the Bristol Classical Press Russian Texts series, in Russian with English notes, vocabulary and introduction.;Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) is well-known for his novel, "The Master and Margarita", published posthumously in the 1970s. In his own life he was best known as a playwright, with plays running at several of the leading theatres in Moscow during the 1920s and 1930s.;"Flight" takes as its subject the defeated Whites as they flee the Reds and emigrate to Constantinople and Paris. The play was too politically controversial to be staged in Bulgakov's lifetime. Couched in the form of eight "dreams" rather than conventional scenes, it hovers between tragedy and comedy.