A Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
()
About this ebook
Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Turgenev includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.
eBook features:* The complete unabridged text of ‘A Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’
* Beautifully illustrated with images related to Turgenev’s works
* Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook
* Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Turgenev was a Russian writer whose work is exemplary of Russian Realism. A student of Hegel, Turgenev’s political views and writing were heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment. Among his most recognized works are the classic Fathers and Sons, A Sportsman’s Sketches, and A Month in the Country. Turgenev is today recognized for his artistic purity, which influenced writers such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad. Turgenev died in 1883, and is credited with returning Leo Tolstoy to writing as the result of his death-bed plea.
Read more from Ivan Turgenev
First Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harvard Classics: All 71 Volumes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Month in the Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fathers and Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ivan Turgenev: The Complete Novels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA House of Gentlefolk (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sketches from a Hunter's Album (A Sportsman's Sketches) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Month in the Country Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diary Of A Superfluous Man and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First Love (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Torrents Of Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dream Tales and Prose Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Nobleman's Nest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rudin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to A Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
Titles in the series (18)
Rudin by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirgin Soil by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA House of Gentlefolk by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Eve by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFaust by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diary of a Superfluous Man by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmoke by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYakov Pasinkov by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAcia by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhantoms by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Song of Triumphant Love by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst Love by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClara Militch by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTorrents of Spring by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dream by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sportsman’s Sketches by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
King Lear of the Steppes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Pair of Blue Eyes (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blanche: The Maid of Lille Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Female Short Story. A Chronological History: Volume 3 - Charlotte Riddell to Mary E Penn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Pair of Blue Eyes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Thousand Peaceful Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lanny Budd Novels Volume One: World's End, Between Two Worlds, and Dragon's Teeth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silver Poppy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld's End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Isacq Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMerlin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mubblefubbles: A Toothy Tangle: Medieval Muddles, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Storyteller and Other Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man Who Was Thursday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Silence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sylvie: souvenirs du Valois Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLovecraft, My Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Disgraceful Mr. Ravenhurst Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Undine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prince Zaleski Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Prince Zaleski Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man who was Thursday: A Nightmare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chalice of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dostoyevsky Omnibus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Black Yonnix: A Bitter End Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMonsieur de Chauvelin's Will Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Classics For You
A Good Man Is Hard To Find And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bell Jar: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The New Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things They Carried Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sun Also Rises: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Eden (Original Classic Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn French! Apprends l'Anglais! THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: In French and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm: A Fairy Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Hemingway Library Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Farewell to Arms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confederacy of Dunces Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility (Centaur Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wuthering Heights (with an Introduction by Mary Augusta Ward) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for A Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
A Lear of the Steppes by Ivan Turgenev - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) - Ivan Turgenev
of
IVAN TURGENEV
VOLUME 12 OF 53
A Lear of the Steppes
Parts Edition
By Delphi Classics, 2015
Version 2
COPYRIGHT
‘A Lear of the Steppes’
Ivan Turgenev: Parts Edition (in 53 parts)
First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.
© Delphi Classics, 2017.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.
ISBN: 978 1 78877 040 8
Delphi Classics
is an imprint of
Delphi Publishing Ltd
Hastings, East Sussex
United Kingdom
Contact: sales@delphiclassics.com
www.delphiclassics.com
Ivan Turgenev: Parts Edition
This eBook is Part 12 of the Delphi Classics edition of Ivan Turgenev in 53 Parts. It features the unabridged text of A Lear of the Steppes from the bestselling edition of the author’s Collected Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of Ivan Turgenev, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.
Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of Ivan Turgenev or the Collected Works of Ivan Turgenev in a single eBook.
Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here.
IVAN TURGENEV
IN 53 VOLUMES
Parts Edition Contents
The Novels
1, Rudin
2, A House of Gentlefolk
3, On the Eve
4, Fathers and Sons
5, Smoke
6, Virgin Soil
The Novellas
7, The Diary of a Superfluous Man
8, Yakov Pasinkov
9, Faust
10, Acia
11, First Love
12, A Lear of the Steppes
13, Torrents of Spring
14, The Song of Triumphant Love
15, Clara Militch
16, Phantoms
17, The Dream
The Short Stories
18, A Sportsman’s Sketches
19, A Tour in the Forest
20, Andrei Kolosov
21, A Correspondence
22, The District Doctor
23, Mumu
24, The Jew
25, An Unhappy Girl
26, The Duellist
27, Three Portraits
28, Enough
29, A Desperate Character
30, A Strange Story
31, Punin and Baburin
32, Old Portraits
33, The Brigadier
34, Pyetushkov
35, Knock, Knock, Knock
36, The Inn
37, Lieutenant Yergunov’s Story
38, The Dog
39, The Watch
40, The Rendezvous
41, A Reckless Character
42, Father Alexyéi’s Story
43, Poems in Prose
The Plays
44, A Month in the Country
45, A Provincial Lady
46, A Poor Gentleman
47, Careless
48, Broke
49, Where It Is Thin, There It Breaks
50, The Family Charge
51, The Bachelor
The Criticism
52, The Criticism
The Biography
53, Turgenev: A Study by Edward Garnett
www.delphiclassics.com
A Lear of the Steppes
Translated by Constance Garnett, 1899
CONTENTS
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
WE were a party of six, gathered together one winter evening at the house of an old college friend. The conversation turned on Shakespeare, on his types, and how profoundly and truly they were taken from the very heart of humanity. We admired particularly their truth to life, their actuality. Each of us spoke of the Hamlets, the Othellos, the Falstaffs, even the Richard the Thirds and Macbeths - - the two last only potentially, it is true, resembling their prototypes - - whom he had happened to come across.
And I, gentlemen,
cried our host, a man well past middle age, used to know a King Lear!
How was that?
we questioned him.
Oh, would you like me to tell you about him?
Please do.
And our friend promptly began his narrative.
I
ALL my childhood,
he began, "and early youth, up to the age of fifteen, I spent in the country, on the estate of my mother, a wealthy landowner in X - - - - province. Almost the most vivid impression, that has remained in my memory of that far - off time, is the figure of our nearest neighbour, Martin Petrovitch Harlov. Indeed it would be difficult for such an impression to be obliterated: I never in my life afterwards met anything in the least like Harlov. Picture to yourselves a man of gigantic stature. On his huge carcase was set, a little askew, and without the least trace of a neck, a prodigious head. A perfect haystack of tangled yellowish - grey hair stood up all over it, growing almost down to the bushy eyebrows. On the broad expanse of his purple face, that looked as though it had been peeled, there protruded a sturdy knobby nose; diminutive little blue eyes stared out haughtily, and a mouth gaped open that was diminutive too, but crooked, chapped, and of the same colour as the rest of the face. The voice that proceeded from this mouth, though hoarse, was exceedingly strong and resonant. . . . Its sound recalled the clank of iron bars, carried in a cart over a badly paved road; and when Harlov spoke, it was as though some one were shouting in a high wind across a wide ravine. It was difficult to tell just what Harlov’s face expressed, it was such an expanse. . . . One felt one could hardly take it all in at one glance. But it was not disagreeable - - a certain grandeur indeed could be discerned in it, only it was exceedingly astounding and unusual. And what hands he had - - positive cushions! What fingers, what feet! I remember I could never gaze without a certain respectful awe at the four - foot span of Martin Petrovitch’s back, at his shoulders, like millstones. But what especially struck me was his ears! They were just like great twists of bread, full of bends and curves; his cheeks seemed to support them on both sides. Martin Petrovitch used to wear - - winter and summer alike - - a Cossack dress of green cloth, girt about with a small Tcherkess strap, and tarred boots. I never saw a cravat on him; and indeed what could he have tied a cravat round? He breathed slowly and heavily, like a bull, but walked without a sound. One might have imagined that having got into a room, he was in constant fear of upsetting and overturning everything, and so moved cautiously from place to place, sideways for the most part, as though slinking by. He was possessed of a strength truly Herculean, and in consequence enjoyed great renown in the neighbourhood. Our common people retain to this day their reverence for Titanic heroes. Legends were invented about him. They used to recount that he had one day met a bear in the forest and had almost vanquished him; that having once caught a thief in his beehouse, he had flung him, horse and cart and all, over the hedge, and so on. Harlov himself never boasted of his strength. ‘If my right hand is blessed,’ he used to say, ‘so it is God’s will it should be!’ He was proud, only he did not take pride in his strength, but in his rank, his descent, his common sense.
Our family’s descended from the Swede Harlus,
he used to maintain. In the princely reign of Ivan Vassilievitch the Dark (fancy how long ago!) he came to Russia, and that Swede Harlus did not wish to be a Finnish count - - but he wished to be a Russian nobleman, and he was inscribed in the golden book. It’s from him we Harlovs are sprung! . . . And by the same token, all of us Harlovs are born flaxen - haired, with light eyes and clean faces, because we’re children of the snow!
But, Martin Petrovitch,
I once tried to object, there never was an Ivan Vassilievitch the Dark. Then was an Ivan Vassilievitch the Terrible. The Dark was the name given to the great prince Vassily Vassilievitch.
What nonsense will you talk next!
Harlov answered serenely; since I say so, so it was!
One day my mother took it into her head to commend him to his face for his really remarkable incorruptibility.
Ah, Natalia Nikolaevna!
he protested almost angrily; what a thing to praise me for, really! We gentlefolk can’t be otherwise; so that no churl, no low - born, servile creature dare even imagine evil of us! I am a Harlov, my family has come down from’ - - here he pointed up somewhere very high aloft in the ceiling - - ‘and me not be honest! How is it possible?
Another time a high official, who had come into the neighbourhood and was staying with my mother, fancied he could make fun of Martin Petrovitch. The latter had again referred to the Swede Harlus,