Editing Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy: Mikhail Katkov and the Great Russian Novel(NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies)

In Editing Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, Susanne Fusso examines Mikhail Katkov's literary career without vilification or canonization, focusing on the ways in which his nationalism fueled his drive to create a canon of Russian literature and support its recognition around the world. In each chapter, Fusso considers Katkov's relationship with a major Russian literary figure. In addition to Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, she explores Katkov's interactions with Vissarion Belinsky, Evgeniia Tur, and the legacy of Aleksandr Pushkin. This groundbreaking study will fascinate scholars, students, and general readers interested in Russian literature and literary history.

About the Author :
Susanne Fusso is Marcus L. Taft Professor of Modern Languages and Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at Wesleyan University. Her most recent translation of Sergey Gandlevsky's work is Illegible.

Review :
Fusso's beautifully written study offers a behind-the-scenes account of a man who not only 'inspired vehement passions, both positive and negative,' but also published many of Russia's greatest nineteenth-century novels. (Slavic Review) The appearance of the first English-language monograph about M. N. Katkov, the editor and man of letters, is an event. (New Literary Observer) In making her case for Katkov's editorial clout, Fusso performs a tremendous scholarly service. She elegantly translates key passages from essays by Katkov that have remained largely unexamined by Western critics, tracking his ideological evolution from moderate progressive to reactionary. (Times Literary Supplement) Fusso shows in this fascinating study how Katkov as editor dedicated his life both to the propagation of his beliefs and to the promotion of Russian literature. Among other things, her book is an account of the reception of Katkov from his own day to the present time as reflective of deep cultural currents in Russia. (The Russian Review) Fusso shows convincingly that Katkov is much more than a footnote in the history of Russian literature. (American Historical Review) As the first book-length study of Katkov in English, this volume fills a significant gap in the scholarly literature. This book rescues Katkov from earlier caricature and shows his vital place in the larger ecosystem of literary production in the age of the great Russian novel. (The Modern Language Review)