What Is to Be Done? Tales About New People
By:
Sign Up Now!
Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title.
Learn about membership options,
or view our freely available titles.
- Synopsis
- Nikolai Chernyshevsky was one of a group of Russian intellectuals who were influenced by the revolutions in Western Europe and who were unhappy with the Tsar's policies. He was arrested in 1862 for organizing underground activities and spent most of the rest of his life in prison. During his first year in prison, he was allowed to write and publish a novel -- a decision that the government regretted. "What Is To Be Done?" caused an immediate sensation in Russian society, and young people modeled activities after the book. Most later revolutionary groups cited this book as an important influence. As literature, the book received mixed criticism both then and now. The author makes frequent direct commentaries to the audience, and the character's actions are all meant to illustrate how "new people" should live. But there is a love story of sorts in the book, and descriptions of St. Petersburg society in the mid-nineteenth century are interesting. Some of Chernyshevsky's radical ideas included regarding women as intellectual equals of men, suggesting that marriage should properly be a partnership among equals, and describing a new type of communal workplace in which workers ran the workship and shared in the profits equally.
- Copyright:
- 1961
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Excellent
- Book Size:
- 366 Pages
- Publisher:
- Random House, Inc.
- Date of Addition:
- 07/27/09
- Copyrighted By:
- Random House, Inc.
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Literature and Fiction
- Submitted By:
- Rick Costa
- Proofread By:
- Laurie Bechtler
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.