Vsevolod Sergeyevich Solovyov (russian: Всеволод Серге́евич Соловьёв; – ) was a Russian historical

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. His most famous work is ''Chronicle of Four Generations'' (five volumes, 1881–86), an account of the fictional Gorbatov family from the time of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

to the mid-nineteenth century. Solovyov's "atmosphere of nostalgia for the vanished age of the nobility" helps explain his "posthumous popularity among Russian émigrés." Oldest son of the historian Sergei Solovyov and brother of the

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Vladimir Solovyov and poet Polyxena Solovyova, Vsevolod turned to writing historical fiction in 1876 with ''Princess Ostrozhskaya''. He visited

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1884 where he met

Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Socie ...

and mixed with other people in the Paris

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

scene, such as

Juliette Adam Juliette Adam (; née Lambert; 4 October 1836 – 23 August 1936) was a French author and feminist. Life and career Juliette Adam was born in Verberie (Oise). She gave an account of her childhood, rendered unhappy by the dissensions of he ...

, Vera Jelikovsky, Blavatsky's sister, and Emilie de Morsier. By 1886 he had become a bitter and disillusioned enemy of the founder of

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

."A Modern Priestess of Isis"

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. He abandoned his plans to promote theosophy in Russia and denounced Blavatsky as a failed spy of the Okhrana. At the time he was intimately involved with Yuliana Glinka, who worked for

Pyotr Rachkovsky Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky (russian: Пётр Иванович Рачковский; 1853 – 1 November 1910) was chief of Okhrana, the secret service in Imperial Russia. He was based in Paris from 1885 to 1902. Activities in 1880s–1890s Afte ...

, Paris head of the Okhrana. Of his later novels, the best known are ''The Magi'' (1889) and ''The Great Rosicrucian'' (1890), dealing with

mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...

of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Publications

* «Княжна Острожская» (« Нива», 1876) * «Юный император» («Нива», 1877) * «Капитан гренадерской роты» («Историческая библиотека», 1878) * «Юный император» (1877) * «Царь Девица» («Нива», 1878) * «Касимовская невеста» («Нива», 1879) * «Наваждение» (« Русский вестник», 1879) * «Хроника четырёх поколений»: ** «Сергей Горбатов» («Нива», 1881) ** «Вольтерьянец» («Нива», 1882) ** «Старый дом» («Нива», 1883) ** «Изгнанник» (1885) ** «Последние Горбатовы» (1886) * «Волхвы» («Север», 1889) * «Царское посольство» (1890); * «Великий розенкрейцер» (« Север», 1890) * «Новые рассказы» (1892) * «Жених царевны» (1893) * «Злые вихри» (1894) * «Цветы бездны» («Русский вестник», 1895)
''A Modern Priestess of Isis''
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Publications

References

Further reading