Russia in Britain, 1880 to 1940: From Melodrama to Modernism

Russia in Britain offers the first comprehensive account of the breadth and depth of the British fascination with Russian and Soviet culture, tracing its transformative effect on British intellectual life from the 1880s, the decade which saw the first sustained interest in Russian literature, to 1940, the eve of the Soviet Union's entry into the Second World War. By focusing on the role played by institutions, disciplines and groups, libraries, periodicals, government agencies, concert halls, publishing houses, theatres, and film societies, this collection marks an important departure from standard literary critical narratives, which have tended to highlight the role of a small number of individuals, notably Sergei Diaghilev, Constance Garnett, Theodore Komisarjevsky, Katherine Mansfield, George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf. Drawing on recent research and newly available archives, Russia in Britain shifts attention from individual figures to the networks within which they operated, and uncovers the variety of forces that enabled and structured the British engagement with Russian culture. The resulting narrative maps an intricate pattern of interdisciplinary relations and provides the foundational research for a new understanding of Anglo-Russian/Soviet interaction. In this, it makes a major contribution to the current debates about transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and 'global modernisms' that are reshaping our knowledge of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British culture. Introduction : against influence : on writing about Russian culture in Britain -- Rebecca Beasley and Philip Ross Bullock "For God, for Czar, for fatherland" : Russians on the British stage from Napoleon to the Great War -- Laurence Senelick "Nihilists of Castlebar!" : exporting Russian nihilism in the 1880s and the case of Oscar Wilde's Vera; or the nihilists -- Michael Newton Britain and the international Tolstoyan movement, 1890-1910 -- Charlotte Alston "For the cause of education" : a history of the Free Russian Library in Whitechapel, 1898-1917 -- Robert Henderson "Formless", "pretentious", "hideous and revolting" : non-Chekhov Russian and Soviet drama on the British stage -- Stuart Young Tsar's hall : Russian music in London, 1895-1926 -- Philip Ross Bullock Le Sacre du printemps in London : the politics of embodied freedom in early modernist dance and suffragette protest -- Ramsay Burt Russian aesthetics in Britain : Kandinsky, Sadleir, and Rhythm -- Caroline Maclean Reading Russian : Russian studies and the literary canon -- Rebecca Beasley The translation of Soviet literature : John Rodker and PresLit -- Ian Patterson Russia and the British intellectuals : the significance of The Stalin-Wells talk -- Matthew Taunton The tempo of revolution : British film culture and Soviet cinema in the 1920s -- Laura Marcus Soviet films and British intelligence in the 1930s : the case of Kino Films and MI5 -- James Smith Afterword : a time and a place for everything : on Russia, Britain, and being modern -- Ken Hirschkop. Cover Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Note on Transliteration Introduction: Against Influence: On Writing about Russian Culture in Britain 1. ‘For God, for Czar, for Fatherland’: Russians on the British Stage from Napoleon to the Great War 2. ‘Nihilists of Castlebar!’: Exporting Russian Nihilism in the 1880s and the case of Oscar Wilde’s Vera; or the Nihilists 3. Britain and the International Tolstoyan Movement, 1890–1910 4. ‘For the Cause of Education’: A History of the Free Russian Library in Whitechapel, 1898–1917 5. ‘Formless’, ‘Pretentious’, ‘Hideous and Revolting’: Non-Chekhov Russian and Soviet Drama on the British Stage 6. Tsar’s Hall: Russian Music in London, 1895–1926 7. Le Sacre du printemps in London: The Politics of Embodied Freedom in Early Modernist Dance and Suffragette Protest 8. Russian Aesthetics in Britain: Kandinsky, Sadleir, and Rhythm 9. Reading Russian: Russian Studies and the Literary Canon 10. The Translation of Soviet Literature: John Rodker and PresLit 11. Russia and the British Intellectuals: The Significance of The Stalin-Wells Talk 12. The Tempo of Revolution: British Film Culture and Soviet Cinema in the 1920s 13. Soviet Films and British Intelligence in the 1930s: The Case of Kino Films and MI5 Afterword: A Time and a Place for Everything: On Russia, Britain, and Being Modern Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z This book offers the first comprehensive account of the breadth and depth of the British fascination with Russian and Soviet culture, tracing its transformative effect on British intellectual life from the 1880s, the decade which saw the first sustained interest in Russian literature, to 1940, the eve of the Soviet Union's entry into the Second World War. By focusing on the role played by institutions, disciplines and groups, libraries, periodicals, government agencies, concert halls, publishing houses, theatres, and film societies, this collection marks an important departure from standard literary critical narratives, which have tended to highlight the role of a small number of individuals, notably Sergei Diaghilev, Constance Garnett, Theodore Komisarjevsky, Katherine Mansfield, George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf This Title Explores The Extent Of British Fascination With Russian And Soviet Culture From The 1880s Up To The Soviet Union's Entry Into The Second World War. Edited By Rebecca Beasley And Philip Ross Bullock. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [269]-297) And Index. Russia in Britain explores the extent of British fascination with Russian and Soviet culture from the 1880s up to the Soviet Union's entry into the Second World War.