Pushkin Synopsis
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is indisputably Russia’s greatest poet –
the nearest Russian equivalent to Shakespeare – and his brief life was
as turbulent and dramatic as anything in his work. T.J Binyon’s
biography of this brilliant and rebellious figure is ‘a remarkable
achievement’ and its publication ‘a real event’ (Catriona Kelly,
Guardian).‘No other work on Pushkin on the same scale, and with the
same grasp of atmosphere and detail, exists in English… And Pushkin is
well worth writing about… he was a remarkable man, a man of action as
well as a poet, and he lived a remarkable life, dying in a duel at the
age of thirty-seven.’ (John Bayley, Literary Review)
Among the delights
of this beautifully illustrated and lavishly produced book are the
‘caricatures of venal old men with popping eyes and side-whiskers,
society beauties with long necks and empire curls and, most touchingly,
images of his “cross-eyed madonna” Natalya’ (Rachel Polonsky, Evening
Standard). Binyon ‘knows almost everything there is to know about
Pushkin. He scrupulously chronicles his life in all its disorder, from
his years at the Lycee through exile in the Crimea, Bessarabia and
Odessa, for writing liberal verses, and on to the publication of Eugene
Onegin and, eventually, after much wrangling with the censor, Boris
Godunov’ (Julian Evans, New Statesman) and in this, ‘Binyon is
unbeatable’(Clive James, TLS).
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780006373384 |
| Publication date: |
27th June 2003 |
| Author: |
T. J. Binyon |
| Publisher: |
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Primary Genre |
Biographies & Autobiographies
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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T. J. Binyon Press Reviews
‘Only a biographer of the first rank could show how the poet’s brilliant spirit was extinguished, not just by a regime, but by elements in that regime that to some extent reflected his own personality. That is true tragedy, and that is Russia.’ George Walden, Sunday Telegraph
‘A weighty biography in every sense, Binyon’s book is poignant, brisk and at times downright funny: the best possible tribute to the changeable and elusively fascinating character of its subject.’ Catriona Kelly, Guardian
’A grippingly entertaining and magnificently authoritative account of the poet’s life, which is, almost unbelievably, the first to appear in any language since 1937.’ Alan Marshall, Daily Telegraph
‘In T.J Binyon [Pushkin] has finally found the biographer he deserves. Here in all its splendour is his rebellious, flamboyant personality and his world of tenuous finance, imperial balls and sexual adventure… Pushkin remains immortal and he certainly lives again in this book.’ Simon Sebag Montefiore, Mail on Sunday
‘Binyon’s Life gives a marvellously clear sense of the man Pushkin might have been to meet: alternately belligerent and sweet, physically small. On the matter of Pushkin’s politics, Binyon is excellent.’ Ian Thomson, Independent on Sunday
‘Scrupulously researched, lucidly and ojectively written, with an admirable lightness of touch and a good dose of dry humour’ Economist
‘Readable, perceptive and witty… a valuable achievement.’ Jonathan Sumption, Spectator
