num_pages: 224
description: In the first decades of the twentieth century gothic fiction flourished in Russia despite official efforts to stamp it out. Yet few of these stories have been translated or published outside Russia. This rare collection includes eleven vintage tales by seven writers of the period: Valery Bryusov Mikhail Bulgakov Aleksandr Grin and Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky; the lesser known but seminal figure Aleksandr Chayanov whose story Venediktov influenced Bulgakov's Master and Margarita; and the emigres Georgy Peskov and Pavel Perov. At a time of revolution and civil war hardship and deprivation the supernatural genres provided means for a number of Russian writers to explore the dark underside of the machine age and the new political order. Through the traditional gothic repertoire of ghosts insanity obsession retribution and terror Red Spectres conveys the turbulence and dissonance of life in Russia in these years.CONTENTSValery Bryusov: In the MirrorAleksandr Chayanov: The Tale of the Hairdresser's Mannequin Aleksandr Chayanov: VenediktovAleksandr Chayanov: The Venetian MirrorMikhail Bulgakov: The Red CrownMikhail Bulgakov: A SanceSigizmund Krzhizhanovsky: The PhantomAleksandr Grin: The Grey Motor CarGeorgy Peskov: The MessengerGeorgy Peskov: The Woman with no NosePavel Perov: Professor Knop's Experiment
language: English
title: Red Spectres: Russian Gothic Tales from the Twentieth Century
publisher: The Overlook Press