Zhiznʹ Stepanovki, ili, Liricheskoe khozi͡a︡ĭstvo (Rossii͡a︡ v memuarakh) (Russian Edition)

Afanasii Fet (1820-1892), best known as a great Russian poet, was also a zealous land owner and businessman. After his marriage with Mar'ia Botkina he bought land in 1860 where he started his new farm Stepanovka. This book contains his current writings and memoirs about ten years of his 'farmer' activity. 1861 was a breaking point in Russian history: the year of the Russian peasant liberation reform. This revolutionary change in peasants' life is one the major topics in these notes. These essays when published were criticized by the democratic press (Pisarev, Chernyshevskii, Saltykov-Shchedrin, etc.) This polemic is included in commentary to the book. Stepanovka was also the place where Fet wrote many of his best known poems which are also included in this book. Commentary and name index.