Tag Archives: Michael Pursglove

The magnificent Mary Ann

Long-term followers of Calderonia will recall that I had always had a theory that the person who taught George to speak Russian credibly before he set out for St Petersburg in 1895 was a ‘Mrs Shapter’, but in my biography … Continue reading

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No place like Home

Ukrainian literature is flourishing, even or especially as the war rages. Perhaps this will not surprise you, as whenever we see and hear Ukrainians on our televisions they are lively, articulate, cultured, witty, open to the world and dialogue, which … Continue reading

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And Professor Rose was not German!

Probably the biggest remaining mystery of George’s biography is: what happened to all his papers associated with researching Slavonic folklore and primitive religions? The book Demon Feasts (or whatever it would have been entitled) was, after all, to be his … Continue reading

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The ‘mysterious’ Mrs Shapter no more

You have a hunch, it proves right, and your rejoicing and self-satisfaction know no bounds… Then you sit back and contemplate the chain of circumstances that led to it being ‘proven right’, and you realise the links were so fortuitous, … Continue reading

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Rochelle Townsend’s ‘Uncle Vanya’

In my introduction to these four posts about the ‘mystery’ Misses and Misters who feature in my biography of George Calderon and the world of Edwardian Anglo-Russian cultural relations, I said that after Michael Pursglove’s magnificent post about the ‘mysterious’ … Continue reading

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Guest post: Michael Pursglove on the ‘forgotten translators’

My interest in early translations from Russian, and especially in their translators, began when I was setting to work on my translation of Turgenev’s Virgin Soil in 2014. It became clear that this would be the first new translation of … Continue reading

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The ‘mystery’ Misses and Misters

The academics are off campus now until September/October, when Sam&Sam plan a new marketing storm in their direction, so we are concentrating on selling boxes of six copies to more bookshops. If you know any near you who might be … Continue reading

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Inestimable Russianist 3: Harvey Pitcher

(This series is timed to coincide with the 2019 Annual Conference of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies at Robinson College, Cambridge.) Hale and hearty in his eighty-third year, Harvey Pitcher is not only one of this … Continue reading

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Inestimable Russianist 2: John Dewey

(This series is timed to coincide with the 2019 Annual Conference of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies at Robinson College, Cambridge.) It is no exaggeration to say that John Dewey befriended Calderonia out of the blue — … Continue reading

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Inestimable Russianist 1: Michael Pursglove

(This series is timed to coincide with the 2019 Annual Conference of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies held 12-14 April at Robinson College, Cambridge, where Sam&Sam will be promoting George Calderon: Edwardian Genius.) When Michael Pursglove … Continue reading

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Inestimable Russianists: A Coming Series of Posts

Frankly, one of the worst experiences from publishing my biography of George Calderon has been the appalling response to the 71 complimentary and review copies that I sent out. I was encouraged, for instance, by specific journalists at The Times, TLS, … Continue reading

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‘Normal’ blogging will resume

A very happy and healthy New Year to all Calderonia readers old and new! (And if you are entirely new, please consider subscribing [immediate right], which does not mean paying anything, it just means that you will automatically receive each … Continue reading

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