''Princess Ligovskaya'' (russian: Княгиня Лиговская) is an unfinished novel by

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

started in 1836 and first published in No.1, January 1882 issue of ''

Russky Vestnik The ''Russian Messenger'' or ''Russian Herald'' (russian: Ру́сский ве́стник ''Russkiy Vestnik'', Pre-reform Russian: Русскій Вѣстникъ ''Russkiy Vestnik'') has been the title of three notable magazines published in ...

''.Commentaries to Princess Ligovskaya. The Works of M.Yu.Lermontov in 4 volumes. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura Publishers. Moscow, 1958. Vol. 4. p. 494.

Synopsis

The Guards officer Pechorin meets his former beau Vera Ligovskaya (now married to a pompous and vain man, Prince Ligovskoy), finds his love is not entirely dead and sees she is struggling with similar feelings. A parallel sub-plot deals with the hero's conflict with Krasinsky, a minor official from an impoverished noble family.

History

Lermontov started the novel in 1836 soon after he finished ''Two Brothers''. He was forced to abruptly abandon it 1837 after being arrested for his controversial poem "

Death of the Poet "Death of the Poet" (russian: Смерть Поэта) is an 1837 poem by Mikhail Lermontov, written in reaction to the death of Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin was mortally wounded in a duel on January 27, 1837, and died on the 29th. Lermontov began ...

", and later opted against finishing it. On June 8, 1838, in a letter to his friend Svyatoslav Rayevsky he wrote: "The novel that we've started stalked and will hardly get another start, for the circumstances that formed its background changed, and you know, I won't go against the truth." Rayevsky was by no means a co-author: he was only writing down what Lermontov was dictating him. Most of the characters of ''Princess Ligovskaya'' had their real prototypes. Varvara Lopukhina (whom Lermontov was in love with) featured as Vera, her husband Nikolai Bakhmetyev as Prince Ligovskoy. In Elizaveta Negurova the author portrayed Yekaterina Sushkova, whom he's had an uneasy relationship with, described in full detail in his 1835 letter to cousin Alexandra Vereshchagina. Critics noticed that Pechorin bears strong resemblance to Lermontov. On the other hand, there are obvious parallels to

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

's Yevgeny Onegin (both heroes' second names are derived from the names of rivers

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

and Onega).

References

Ligovskaya Ligovskaya Ligovskaya 1836 novels 1882 Russian novels Unfinished novels Novels by Mikhail Lermontov Novels set in 19th-century Russia 19th-century Russian novels Russian-language novels {{1830s-novel-stub