The article discusses and analyzes the relationship between L.N. Tolstoy and P.D. Boborykin, It is shown that, despite the brevity of correspondence and episodic meetings, both writers had a serious interest in each other's work justified by literary development. Two letters of Boborykin and Tolstoy, written at the time of Boborykin’s work as the editorinchief of the “Library for Reading” journal, are evaluated, the main difficulties that Boborykin faced while working as an editor are touched on. Comprehended are pieces of advice given to Boborykin by Tolstoy as well as skill and mastery exercised by both writers to speak about eternal questions and problems. Attention is paid to the image of St. Petersburg and its embodiment in the works of the authors, the attitude of Tolstoy and Boborykin
to foreigners and European life. The main characteristics given by Tolstoy to Boborykin’s work are given. Boborykin’s perception of the novel “Anna Karenina” is assessed from the position of the women’s issue and other topical problems of modern society for writers. Some significant remarks from Boborykin’s “Memoirs” and some of his critical articles are given, which allow to evaluate the position of the writer and its change.
Acknowledgments:
This work was carried out at IWL RAS with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 23-28-00661 “Correspondence of L.N. Tolstoy with Russian writers and publicists. 1860s” https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-00661/
For citation:
Andreeva V.G. Correspondence L.N. Tolstoy and P.D. Boborykin: from letters of the 1860’s before being elected to academics, Ivanovo State University Bulletin,
Series: Humanities, 2023, iss. 3, pp. 5—15.