Leonard Schapiro, one of the world’s most distinguished historians of the Russian past, has written the definitive biography of the enigmatic Ivan Turgenev. Based on new sources that have recently come to light in France and Russia, this work is a graceful and meticulous portrayal of the artist’s life—the personal and intellectual preoccupations of the man as he thought and formed opinions about contemporary events. Schapiro’s great achievement is his capacity to make Turgenev’s personal, political, and artistic concerns emerge whole.

A compact but definitive and finely-shaded portrait… No one wishing to learn about Turgenev could have a better or more readable guide.
-- Joseph Frank Washington Post Book World