Turgenev was unquestionably the most liberal-spirited and unqualifiedly
humane of all the great nineteenth-century Russian novelists, and in Virgin
Soil, the biggest and most ambitious of all his works, he sought to balance
his deep affection for his country and his people with his growing
apprehensions about what their future held in store. At the heart of the
book is the story of a young man and a young woman, torn between love and
politics, who struggle to make headway against the complacency of the
powerful, the inarticulate misery of the powerless, and the stifling
conventions of provincial life. This rich and complex book, at once a love
story, a devastating, and bitterly funny, social satire, and, perhaps most
movingly of all, a heartfelt celebration of the immense beauty of the
Russian countryside, is a tragic masterpiece in which one of the world¹s
finest novelists confronts the enduring question of the place of happiness
in a political world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883) was born into a wealthy family from
the class of landed gentry and educated at the universities of Moscow and
St. Petersburg. He first made his name with A Sportsman¹s Sketches, a
realistic portrayal of Russian country life that is said to have influenced
Tsar Alexander II to liberate the serfs. In later life, Turgenev lived in
Europe and returned only occasionally to his native country. Among his most
famous works are the novels Fathers and Sons, Rudin, and On the Eve.
