Literature Network » Alexander Pushkin

A LIFE OF EXILE, EXCESS, AND MAGNIFICENT LITERARY EXPRESSION

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From: The Boston Globe
Date: 20040418
Author:Robert Taylor

When he was killed in a duel in 1837 Alexander Pushkin had completed two chapters of a historical novel titled "The Blackamoor of Peter the Great." The inspiration for the book derived from the astonishing career of his maternal grandfather, who began life as a slave, probably Ethiopian, and who, without connections or money, nevertheless became a general of the Russian Army in charge of military engineering throughout the country. The roots of Pushkin, Russia's great poet, are found in Africa.

T. J. Binyon's distinguished "Pushkin" aims "to free the complex and interesting figure of Pushkin ...

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