Dictionary of Russian Women Writers - by Mariana Astman Ledkovsky & B L Bessonov (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first reference work in any language devoted to Russian women writers, this dictionary systematically covers, in detail, the lives of 448 women who wrote from the period of Catherine the Great to the present. Despite their significant achievements, women writers are generally missing from the canons of Russian literature. The present editorial team individually began the process of uncovering this lost literary heritage over ten years ago. More recently, they joined forces with and enlisted contributions from scholars in North America, Europe, and Russia. Each entry comprises a bio-critical sketch followed by lists of important writings in the original and in translation, archival sources, and major secondary references. Data has been researched worldwide, with biographical information culled from diaries, memoirs, and other primary sources as well as literary histories and reference works. A general bibliography supplements the secondary sources provided with each entry.

Book Synopsis

The first reference work in any language devoted to Russian women writers, this dictionary systematically covers, in detail, the lives of 448 women who wrote from the period of Catherine the Great to the present. Despite their significant achievements, women writers are generally missing from the canons of Russian literature. The present editorial team individually began the process of uncovering this lost literary heritage over ten years ago. More recently, they joined forces with and enlisted contributions from scholars in North America, Europe, and Russia. Each entry comprises a bio-critical sketch followed by lists of important writings in the original and in translation, archival sources, and major secondary references. Data has been researched worldwide, with biographical information culled from diaries, memoirs, and other primary sources as well as literary histories and reference works. A general bibliography supplements the secondary sources provided with each entry.

Review Quotes

?This dictionary is a vital resource for all scholars interested in the subect of women in Russia....the Dictionary can be used as a history of Russian women's literature....In fact, this reference work will make exciting new research projects possible for the century leading up to the Great Reforms...Zirin's work in this field is pathbreaking and this reviewer hopes that this easy-to-use reference tool will encourage other scholars and students to conduct research on this important period in modern women's history....The Dictionary of Russian Women Writers is an extremely valuable reference tool. Its organization is impeccable. It is an inspiration and leads to sources that will keep keep scholars working in the field of Russian women's studies busy for some time to come.?-SEEJ

?This unique scholarly book, the work of more than 100 contributors worldwide, would have been more accurately titled 'encyclopedia' since most entries are extensive, many covering several pages. A well-designed format throughout makes for a very useable tool for upper-division undergraduates and above.?-Choice

?This volume is a bio-bibliographical dictionary in the best Russian tradition. Clearly a labor of love on the part of its editors--it is a resource that will be welcome by literary scholars and historians alike. As a contribution to the (re)discovery of Russian women writers, this work is without peer. This dictionary should be in the library of everyone interested in Russian and comparative literature, Russian history and women's studies.?-Canadian Slavonic Papers

"This unique scholarly book, the work of more than 100 contributors worldwide, would have been more accurately titled 'encyclopedia' since most entries are extensive, many covering several pages. A well-designed format throughout makes for a very useable tool for upper-division undergraduates and above."-Choice

"This volume is a bio-bibliographical dictionary in the best Russian tradition. Clearly a labor of love on the part of its editors--it is a resource that will be welcome by literary scholars and historians alike. As a contribution to the (re)discovery of Russian women writers, this work is without peer. This dictionary should be in the library of everyone interested in Russian and comparative literature, Russian history and women's studies."-Canadian Slavonic Papers

"This dictionary is a vital resource for all scholars interested in the subect of women in Russia....the Dictionary can be used as a history of Russian women's literature....In fact, this reference work will make exciting new research projects possible for the century leading up to the Great Reforms...Zirin's work in this field is pathbreaking and this reviewer hopes that this easy-to-use reference tool will encourage other scholars and students to conduct research on this important period in modern women's history....The Dictionary of Russian Women Writers is an extremely valuable reference tool. Its organization is impeccable. It is an inspiration and leads to sources that will keep keep scholars working in the field of Russian women's studies busy for some time to come."-SEEJ

About the Author

MARINA LEDKOVSKY is Professor of Russian at Barnard College/Columbia University.

CHARLOTTE ROSENTHAL is Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Classics at the University of Southern Maine.

MARY ZIRIN is an independent researcher-translator based in Altadena, California, and editor of the newsletter Women: East-West.