Pushkin: A Biography

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin's preeminence as the father of Russian literature is undisputed. Lyric poet, writer of ironic fairy tales, and the author of the verse novel Evgeny Onegin, he lived a life as dramatic as any story he invented. From his banishment in southern Russia at the age of 21 to his marriage to the seventeen-year-old beauty whose flirtations resulted in his death by duel, Elaine Feinstein chronicles Pushkin's fascinating life while exploring the paradoxes of his personality. This compelling book also reveals new information surrounding Pushkin's death.Impudent genius, libertine, wounded son, jealous husband, victim of snobbery and censorship--Pushkin was all of these. But above all he was a brilliant author whose vision, invention, and vitality continue to thrive in literature today. Feinstein, herself a distinguished poet and novelist, has seamlessly intertwined the subject and the biographer, capturing for the reader the essence of one of the most intriguing men ever to enter the pantheon of literary geniuses.