Lavrenti Ardaziani ( ka, ლავრენტი არდაზიანი) (1815 – January 1, 1870) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

writer and journalist and one of the forerunners of Georgian realistic fiction prose. Born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

of a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

, Ardaziani graduated from the local theological seminary and entered the civil service under the

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 ...

viceroyal administration. He debuted with prose translation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

in 1858 and quickly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the principal Georgian literary magazine ''Tsiskari''. His works – full of satirical touches – are noted for their realistic portrayal of social life in old Tbilisi. His best known novella ''Solomon Isakich Mejganuashvili'' (სოლომონ ისაკიჩ მეჯღანუაშვილი, 1861) is a first-person life-story told by the eponymous hero of the Tiflis Armenian milieu, who starts modestly as a small tradesman and then turn to money lending so that the aristocracy also falls into his clutches. He now aims at becoming accepted in beau monde and wants to marry his daughter off to a Georgian prince Alexander Raindidze who, a well-bred and enlightened liberal man, is presented as a contrast to the character of Solomon. Of note are also Ardaziani's work ''Travelling by the Pavements of Tiflis'' (მოგზაურობა ტფილისის ტროტუარზედ, 1862), novel The ''Obedient Woman'' (მორჩილი, 1862) and polemic essays in the Georgian press.Baramidze, A.G., Gamezardashvili, D.M. (2001), ''Georgian Literature'', p. 60. The Minerva Group, Inc., . Lang, David Marshall (1962), ''A Modern History of Georgia'', pp. 87-88. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Rayfield, Donald Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...

(2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'', p. 153.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardaziani, Lavrenti 1815 births 1870 deaths Writers from Tbilisi Journalists from Tbilisi 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century male writers