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Why was Russian literature so much better than Victorian English literature?

Question by Jack: Why was Russian lit so much better than Victorian English lit?
Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev… all of them better than anything England ever produced (let alone during the 19th century).
Why were the Russians so great at writing during that particular time in history?
@BT Tolstoy was an army officer, you dunce! Ever hear of the Crimean War? You make it sound like they lived easy lives of leisure…is that how you would characterize Dostoyevsky’s time spent in a prison in Siberia?

Answers and Views:

Answer by BT
They were not involved in any wars, They also had the opportunity and time to write. there were other great writers from other countries during this time.

Answer by Roger
Better in what sense?

They certainly tend to be more exciting, in the same way a biography of a drunken, whoring, thieving artist would be more fun to read than the story of a quiet family man who paid his taxes. That wouldn’t necessarily mean the first was better as biography than the second.

Several English authors such as George Eliot, Thackeray, even Dickens, had profound observations to make on life and character, but they couldn’t compete with stories about semi-madmen, always saying and doing wild and unpredictable things.

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Comments ( 4 )

  1. Olga says

    The grass is greener on the other side, right? On the other hand, I think it’s rather certain writers and books than nations.

    Reply
  2. cathrl69 says

    I find it turgid and dull, personally. We all have different definitions of “better”.

    Reply
  3. Moon says

    there is no need of any particular reason for this. If Russian literature is found best that can be attributed to their interest in literature than anything else.

    Reply
  4. Debra says

    In my personal opinion, Russians were/are very intense, cerebral and physically/emotionally strong people. The English during the Victorian Era tended to focus on societal rules and though there are some excellent authors during this period for the most part being intense and cerebral were not something that folks prized. Russian novels of the Victorian Era tend to be quite long and complex unlike their English counterparts. I think these differences were partially political and partially the dynamics of the two groups.

    Reply

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