Description
Book SynopsisIn Noble Subjects, Bella Grigoryan examines the rise of the Russian novel in relation to the political, legal, and social definitions that accrued to the nobility as an estate, urging readers to rethink the cultural and political origins of the genre.
Trade Review"In this highly original, well-researched study, Grigoryan explores the problematic status of the Russian nobility as citizens in an autocratic state as it was articulated in various journalistic, fictional, and nonfictional texts, while offering fresh interpretations of Russian literary works. This is a rare case of a truly balanced interdisciplinary work that makes an equal contribution to the fields of history and literary studies." --Valeria Sobol, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Noble Subjects makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the interplay between the rise of the nineteenth-century Russian novel and the formation of identity in Russian noble culture. Grigoryan is the first scholar to explore the relationship in Russia between the novelistic tradition and a rich but understudied body of prescriptive texts concerning agriculture. Her book makes a convincing case that the nobility used these overlapping discursive spaces to constitute a viable public sphere and give shape to their identity." --Thomas Newlin, author of The Voice in the Garden: Andrei Bolotov and the Anxieties of Russian Pastoral, 1738-1833
