Celebrated Translations -- The Daughter of the Colonel (Color Illustrations Edition) (Color Illustrations Edition)

Author: Pushkin (Russia), translated by Liu Wenfei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: "The Captain's Daughter" is one of Pushkin's most famous representative works, as well as the first realistic work in Russian literary history that reflects peasant struggles. It was praised by Gogol as "Russia's finest narrative work" and holds an irreplaceable position in Russian and world literary history. It has been translated into over 100 languages and remains best-selling to this day. It was introduced to China in 1903, becoming one of the earliest translated Russian literary works. Pushkin was the greatest poet, novelist, and playwright of 19th-century Russia, a key figure in Russian Romanticism and the founder of Russian Realism. He was hailed as "the Sun of Russian Poetry" and "the Father of Russian Literature." Pushkin is like an encyclopedia, containing all the regularity, power, and flexibility of our language. In him, the Russian nature, the Russian soul, the Russian language, and the Russian character are reflected so pure and beautiful, just like a landscape reflected in convex optical glass. —Gogol
Pushkin was the pioneer who combined Romanticism and Realism, and this fusion gave Russian literature its unique tone and character. —Gorky
Pushkin's novels, like his poetry, are an important part of his literary creation. Although the number of novels is small, they still achieve high artistic merit and, together with his poetry and drama, laid the foundation for modern Russian literature. This book selects the most representative works from Pushkin's novels, including: "The Captain's Daughter," "The Queen of Spades," "The Night in Egypt," "The Tales of Ivan Petrovich Belkin," and "Dubrovsky."
"The Captain's Daughter" is based on the Pugachev Uprising of the 18th century. The nobleman Grigory Orlov meets Pugachev during a blizzard and gives him a rabbit coat to keep warm. Later, while serving in the army, Grigory falls in love with the daughter of the fortress commander, Maria, which leads to a duel with Schwabrin. Soon after, the fortress is captured by Pugachev's rebel forces, and the commander and his wife are executed. Grigory and Maria are also arrested, but Pugachev, moved by old ties, releases Grigory and helps him marry Maria. In the end, the uprising fails, and Pugachev is executed.
"The Queen of Spades" portrays the life of gamblers in St. Petersburg's upper class, depicting the determined, ruthless, and ambitious character of the German officer Hermann. To win three winning cards, he kills Countess Tomskaya. After obtaining the cards, he、. In a critical game, he loses all his money to Chekalin, and he himself also goes mad from the blow.
"The Night in Egypt" describes the St. Petersburg poet Charykov, who refuses to sink into the secular social circle and avoids contact with other writers. One day, he meets an Italian improvisatore who has come to Russia due to poverty. Through observation, Charykov realizes that the improvisatore has extraordinary talent but is also full of vulgar habits. He decides to help the improvisatore stage a successful performance.
"The Tales of Ivan Petrovich Belkin" is named after the pseudonym the author used when publishing it. It is a collection of five short stories, including "Shooting," "The Blizzard," and "Dubrovsky." "Dubrovsky" tells the story of Andrei Gavrilovich Dubrovsky, a retired guard lieutenant, who loses a land dispute and loses all his property. He dies of grief. His son Vladimir, after settling his father's affairs, becomes a bandit and robs extensively. He disguises himself and enters the home of his enemy Kirill Petrovich but abandons his revenge after falling in love with his daughter Maria. Due to his father's opposition, Maria eventually marries the Duke of Velitsky. In despair, Dubrovsky retreats quietly after repelling a government crackdown.