Alexandra Nikitichna Annenskaya (russian: Алекса́ндра Ники́тична А́нненская, née Tkachyova, Ткачёва; 11 July 1840 – 19 May 1915) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

translator and writer who wrote feminist novels for young girls.

Life

Annenskaya was born in a village in

Pskov Governorate Pskov Governorate (russian: link=no, Псковская губерния, ''Pskovskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, which existed from 1772 until 1777 and from 1796 until ...

, her parents came from a noble but poor family. She began to write feminist novels for young girls. Her brother was the revolutionary writer

Pyotr Tkachev Pyotr Nikitich Tkachev (Russian: Пётр Ники́тич Ткачёв) (29 June 1844 – 4 January 1886) was a Russian writer, critic and revolutionary theorist who formulated many of the revolutionary principles that were later developed and pu ...

who was to influence

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

. The fatherless family moved to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

when she was eleven. She was approved as a teacher by

Saint Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

and she established a primary school in the 1860s. Meanwhile her brother was involved in student riots. She married

Nikolai Annensky Nikolai Feodorovich Annensky (russian: Никола́й Фёдорович А́нненский; 12 March 1843 – 8 August 1912) was a Russian economist, statistician and politician. He was a member of the populist (''narodnik'') movement and t ...

in 1866. He was arrested and she served time in exile with him. Meanwhile her first novel was ''The German Teacher'' and it was published in ''

Family and School Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

'' in 1871. She wrote more articles that were published in the journal up to 1886. Her most popular story may have been ''One's Own Way'' which features a young girl who finds her own purpose after she is forced to care for another younger child. Many of her stories had moral messages. In 1873 she achieved success with a version of ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'', and she translated stories by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, Ethel Voinich,

Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to: Scientists and academics * Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways * Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...

and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

In the 1890s she took to biographies creating descriptions of the lives of people like

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...

and

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

. She also described the exploits of explorers and role models like

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. Annenskaya died in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1915.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annenskaya, Alexandra Nikitichna 1840 births 1915 deaths People from Velikoluksky District People from Velikoluksky Uyezd Journalists from the Russian Empire Translators from the Russian Empire Women writers from the Russian Empire Russian children's writers Russian women children's writers Russian women journalists 19th-century journalists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian writers 19th-century women writers from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian women writers 19th-century translators from the Russian Empire 19th-century women journalists