Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) is, for Russians, their greatest writer; Eugene Onegin is his greatest work. Yet it remains little known outside Russia. Attempts to render Pushkin's Russian stanzas into verse have tried in vain to imitate the most inimitable feature of the original, while masking many of its other glories. This prose version, for the first time, gives us a Eugene Onegin that is easy and enjoyable to read. Where previous versions lost the novel in the verse, Roger Clarke has discarded the verse to bring us the novel. And more than the novel: what shines through here are not only Pushkin's touching story and subtle characterisation, but his incisive pictures of contemporary Russian life and landscapes, his social and literary comment, his humour, and indeed the essential poetry of the work. The addition of four captivating verse-tales from Pushkin's early maturity makes this book a must for anybody interested in Russian or European literature.

Introduction

Note on Russian and Polish names

Note on Numbers and Symbols in the Text

EUGENE ONEGIN

ONEGIN'S JOURNEY (fragments)

A PRISONER IN THE CAUCASUS

  Travels in the Caucasus and the Crimea

  Pushkin's travels in the Caucasus and the Crimea, 182o

  Pushkin's travels in the Crimea I824-5

  the Palace of Bahchisaray in 182o

  Gurzfif and Bahchisaray today

THE FOUNTAIN OF BAHCHISARAY

GYPSIES

POLTAVA

Commentary

  Notes on Eugene On,gin

  Notes on On,gin's journey

  Notes on A prisoner in the Caucasus

  Notes on Travels in the Caucasus and the Crimea

  Notes on The fountain of Bahchisaray

  Notes on Gypsies

  Notes on Poltava

  Pushkin: A selective biographical note

  A historical note on Russia's southern frontier

  Maps

For further reading: a selective bibliography