In
1861, Alexander Herzen’s memoirs “My Past and Thoughts” in two volumes were
published for the first time. He presented a copy to his beloved daughter
Natalya with the dedicatory inscription,
Herzen. “My Past and Thoughts”. Volume Two
Creation period
1861
Place of сreation
London, England
Dimensions
19x12 cm
Technique
paper, cardboard, buckram, leather; printing, tooling
Exhibition
0
Open in app#1
#2
To Tata. September 17. Her<zen>. Torquay, Devonshire.
#3
The book did not fully fit into the traditional concept of memoirs. Many literary critics have noted that Alexander Herzen blurred the lines between biographical memoirs and fictional narrative. The book ended up being an autobiographical chronicle similar in form to a novel. The Soviet literary critic Yakov Elsberg wrote,
#4
‘My Past and Thoughts’ is an intricate mix of various genres, including memoir, historical novel, diary, letters, essays, journalism, short story, and biography.
#5
Alexander Herzen himself described “My Past and Thoughts” as a confession.
“My Past and Thoughts” is considered one of the most significant works of 19th-century Russian literature and the magnum opus of Alexander Herzen. The writer began working on this book in his youth. However, he came up with an idea to reflect on his entire life in writing after the death of his wife, Natalya, in 1852. He finished the book in 1868. Alexander Herzen explained, “‘My Past and Thoughts’ was not written consecutively: between some chapters there lie whole years. Therefore, the whole of it retains the color of its own time and of varying moods — I should not care to rub this off.”
Alexander Herzen dedicated “My Past and Thoughts” to his close friend, Nikolay Ogarev. Some of the chapters were published in “The Polar Star” in the 1850s, including the ones about the oath taken by the young Alexander Herzen and Nikolay Ogarev on Sparrow Hills, and his university years. Both individual chapters and the book quickly found success.
The literary critic Mikhail Svyatopolk-Mirsky explained the success of “My Past and Thoughts” as follows,
#6
Alexander Herzen is a great impressionist portraitist, and his memories of his father and other relatives, Moscow idealists, and European revolutionaries are incredibly vivid. With his light, feather-like brushstrokes, he paints colorful portraits. Equally remarkable are the passages in the book where he adds a historical context to the stories from his life.
#8
Herzen. “My Past and Thoughts”. Volume Two
#7
Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
read morehide
00:00
00:00
1x
Herzen. “My Past and Thoughts”. Volume Two
Creation period
1861
Place of сreation
London, England
Dimensions
19x12 cm
Technique
paper, cardboard, buckram, leather; printing, tooling
Exhibition
0
Point your smartphone camera to open in the appOpen in app
Share
