The Brother

'For his mother, he was a miracle. . . . Mothers can be deluded.'

Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya (1821-89) was recognised in her day, both at home and abroad, as Russia's greatest writer after Tolstoy and Turgenev. In her novella, The Brother, she tells the story of the three Chirkin sisters, who are trapped on their remote, decrepit estate, and their brother, a corrupt official who siphons off what little they have to support his extravagant life of gambling and social climbing in St Petersburg. When he returns home, a dark family drama ensues, infused with wry humour and pathos.

An unflinching portrayal of brutal provincial patriarchy, The Brother is a gripping story of struggle and betrayal. Khvoshchinskaya's penetrating insights into the complexities of family dynamics, her ear for dialogue and hypocrisy, and her deep understanding of human psychology led Russian critics to compare her to their favourite English writer: George Eliot. Like all her fiction, The Brother was published under the male pseudonym V. Krestovsky. Fiercely private, Khvoshchinskaya resisted biographers' attempts to write about her in her lifetime, claiming pseudonyms have 'no biography'. This new translation and introduction offer insights into her life, times, and legacy for the 21st century.

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