Fee Download Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff
Some individuals may be laughing when looking at you reviewing Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff in your spare time. Some might be appreciated of you. And also some could desire resemble you that have reading leisure activity. What concerning your own feel? Have you felt right? Reading Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff is a requirement and also a leisure activity at the same time. This condition is the on that particular will certainly make you feel that you need to review. If you understand are trying to find guide qualified Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff as the option of reading, you could find right here.
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff
Fee Download Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff. The industrialized innovation, nowadays support everything the human needs. It consists of the everyday tasks, tasks, office, home entertainment, and also more. Among them is the wonderful net link as well as computer system. This problem will alleviate you to assist one of your leisure activities, reviewing routine. So, do you have going to review this e-book Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff now?
If you want actually obtain guide Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff to refer now, you have to follow this web page constantly. Why? Remember that you require the Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff source that will give you appropriate requirement, don't you? By visiting this site, you have started to make new deal to constantly be up-to-date. It is the first thing you could start to get all benefits from remaining in a website with this Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff and other compilations.
From now, finding the finished website that sells the completed publications will certainly be several, yet we are the trusted website to check out. Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff with very easy web link, simple download, and also completed book collections become our great solutions to get. You could discover and also make use of the perks of selecting this Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff as everything you do. Life is constantly developing and also you require some new publication Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff to be reference consistently.
If you still need a lot more books Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff as referrals, going to browse the title and style in this site is readily available. You will certainly discover more lots books Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff in various self-controls. You can also as soon as possible to check out the book that is already downloaded and install. Open it as well as conserve Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff in your disk or gadget. It will ease you any place you need guide soft file to review. This Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, By Alexandra Popoff soft file to check out can be referral for everybody to improve the skill as well as capability.
This biography of Sophia Tolstoy tells the previously unknown story of a talented woman who was central to Leo Tolstoy's life and creativity. Tolstoy's wife of 48 years, Sophia was also his publisher, photographer, and biographer-- that on top of raising their 13 children. However, for a century after Tolstoy's death she has been negatively portrayed.
- Sales Rank: #447541 in Books
- Brand: Free Press
- Published on: 2010-05-11
- Ingredients: Example Ingredients
- Format: Deckle Edge
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.09" h x 6.62" w x 9.52" l, 1.40 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 368 pages
- Great product!
From Booklist
“I am a dead man without you.” The words Tolstoy writes to his wife, Sophia, while researching War and Peace will astonish many of the great novelist’s readers. Their minds poisoned against Sophia by Tolstoy’s biographers, readers have long regarded her as an unfortunate obstacle in the great writer’s career. But as Popoff unfolds the stunning truth, readers realize how much Tolstoy relies on his devoted wife. Grounded in previously unavailable sources, the narrative illuminates Sophia’s role not only in managing her husband’s household but also in enlarging his legacy through her work as editor, archivist, and publisher. The tragic irony that readers confront, however, is that when Tolstoy abandons his literary career to preach ideals of universal benevolence, he entangles himself in real-world contradictions that expose his own spouse to singular distress. Readers will recognize the injustice in the way Tolstoy’s acolytes protect the reputation of their saintly master by blaming Sophia for every inconsistency in his conduct. As a powerful corrective to that injustice, this book deserves a large readership—and is likely to get it with the timely release of the film The Last Station. --Bryce Christensen
Review
"What separates this biography from others is Popoff's access to a trove of unpublished material...that have been locked away in a vault in Moscow... The Tolstoys' marital distress is depicted here with revealing specificity ...What Popoff also makes clear is that Sophia Tolstoy loved her husband intensely. And he loved her. Yet the philosophy of life he adopted proved a substantial challenge to that bond... Popoff's biography vigorously presses the case for Sophia Tolstoy, deepening our view of her exceedingly complicated marriage. Jay Parini, The New York Times
"Although the story of the Tolstoys' marriage has been told many times and the bitterness of their last year together has received dramatic treatment, the famous facts in Popoff's skillful hands read in new and unexpected ways... Popoff dismisses the standard clichés about the Tolstoys, without polemic, simply by detailing from Sophia's perspective the exceptional experience of being married to a great and volatile genius." Amy Mandelker, author of Framing Anna Karenina
"Tolstoy's last years were tragic and difficult for his wife, the subject of Alexandra Popoff's spirited biography...Ms. Popoff presents Sophia as Tolstoy's selfless and vital collaborator, serving as his copyist, editor and archivist...Sophia eventually became his publisher and would produce eight editions of his collected works, personally involving herself in every stage of the process." The Wall Street Journal
"...A fascinating biography..." O Magazine
About the Author
Alexandra Popoff grew up in Moscow where she was educated at the Gorky Literary Institute and then worked as a feature writer and editor at The Literary Gazette, a major writers' newspaper. In 1992 she emigrated to Canada, where she earned postgraduate degrees in Slavic languages and literatures and in English literature. She taught at the University of Saskatchewan before turning to literary biography.
Most helpful customer reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent
By Natasha Rostov
I found this biography fascinating, deeply moving, and raw in its exposure of glossed-over disturbing details in the life of Sophia Tolstoy (the rape on her wedding night, for example), yet hopeful in its celebration of her spirit and the spirit of all people who make the most of impossible situations. The biography is quickly paced, never boring, and provides a horrifying, unconventional view of Tolstoy, who is revealed as an egomaniac who could be cruel and abusive. To see his selfish and spoiled characteristics contrasted with his genius is fascinating. At the same time the book explores the nuances of deep love and even, it could be argued, Stockholm syndrome. Nothing comes across as fantastic or farfetched because Popoff backs up what she says with documentation, usually from Tolstoy's and Sophia's diaries and letters. What emerges from this portrait is Sophia Tolstoy, a courageous woman who was abused and misunderstood and lived in a time and place when she had little to no recourse. In reading her diary excerpts, one is struck by Sophia's brilliance, beautiful turns of phrase, and penetrating psychological insights. If you have ever wondered how War and Peace and Anna Karenina were born, or whether geniuses are fun to live with, take this stroll behind the curtain of literary creation. This is a page-turning book of horror and beauty.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Talented and Responsible Woman
By Loves the View
The The Last Station, portraying Tolstoy's last days when his wife Sophia learned of his secret will leaving his copyrights to the Russian people, piqued my interest in Tolstoy. Only so much can be shown in a film and what was missing was the background that underpinned Tolstoy's decision. In this book, Alexandra Popoff, though reconstructing Sophia's life, provided the information and insight I was seeking.
Popoff shows Tolstoy's beliefs to have a Christian foundation and that they were lifelong. The movie empahasized the secular effects (poverty, chastity, the commune of followers, etc.) and only chronicled the drama it caused at the end of his life. Both the movie and this book show Tolstoy as sincere in his beliefs and both show the contrast with his lifestyle. The film shows the large estate and has a bedroom scene, but the book points out more clearly, how over the course of his life, Tolstoy's wealth and marriage ran counter to his writings.
The book shows how Sophia was a necessary victim. Tolstoy had to blame someone for the disconnect between his beliefs and his comparative (not much considering the wealth in St. Petersburg) wealth and marriage. The movie shows only the end of life distress for Sophia, the book shows how she labored and suffered under Tolstoy's contradictions for a long time. He tried to keep his ultimate wishes from her - most likely - Popoff does not say - because he was ashamed, knowing she deserved better.
Tolstoy's letters and diaries show him to be cruel or oblivious to the effect of his words and actions on his wife. Their wedding night is a rape. He has a venereal disease which he reveals after the marriage and a son as well. His words show that he has little regard for the risks of childbearing, and even children. He doesn't appreciate what it takes to meet the needs of so many children, run a household and manage the business end of the estate and self publishing. His requests were many. Some needed skill and ingenuity such as getting his works uncensored or shipping 45 horses from point A to point B.
My heart went out to Sophia. Her trapped position in the marriage might not be so unusual in the 19th century, but what was unusual was her strength and ability and Tolstoy's talent, demands and idealism. I believe that were she not capable of handling so many things successfully Tolstoy a) would have had to take responsibility for his decisions or b) would have abandoned his wife entirely as did at least one disciple, whose cast off wife Sophia spoke for and sheltered.
Servants are mentioned, but how the work is distributed is unclear. What is clear is that Sophia was working very hard and like all humans, needed love. Popoff shows how Tolstoy provided criticism and humiliation along with some love and appreciation. It is hard to determine the proportions, but it is clear that his denial of emotional support and undermining of the authority necessary to her role drove her to near breaking on several occasions.
Vladimir Chertkov, Tolsoty's disciple and de facto beneficiary to the copyrights, felt no need to give away his wealth when he was among Tolstoyians or later with the communists. It is interesting that Sophia considered that Chertkov may have had a sexual relationship with her husband. For the time, this would be quite a radical thought.
This is an excellent work. Popoff fleshes out all the above and more. Reading this gave me the understanding I was looking for and it was a page turner. I read it in every available minute over two days.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Fascinating
By Julia
I bought this book after I saw a film on Leo Tolstoy and was curious about Sophia. I am 3/4 way through and find it fascinating. This book portrays a sympathetic view of Sophia, dedicated all her life to her husband Leo Tolstoy's writing and his life as a public figure. The book portrays the suffering of Sophia went through with the conversion of Tolstoy to "cristian" and socialists thoughts and how she had to struggle between his ideals (of giving up their property) and the reality of bringing up their children. She was a forceful woman who had to deal with an excentric, idealists, influencial Tolstoy and keep her own beliefs and convictions despite the pressure and persecusion of his followers. She was an amazing woman, became Tolstoy's publisher and was a writer in her own right. The book depicts her intimate marital and family life as on of hardship and suffering, with the death of several of her children and at the end an estranged husband. It is amazing how, despite all the traumas, Sophia was an incredibly resourceful woman, passionate, compassionate. Her involvement in the publishing business is admirable, her dedication in easing the famine in Russia is impressive. The book is well written and documented and provides an excellent portrait of Sophia.
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff PDF
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff EPub
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff Doc
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff iBooks
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff rtf
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff Mobipocket
Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography, by Alexandra Popoff Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar