Leonid Andreyev
Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was born in Oryol, Russia, to a middle-class family. His mother came from an old Polish aristocratic family that had fallen on hard times. She also claimed Ukrainian and Finnish ancestry. He studied law in Moscow and later in Saint Petersburg. After finishing his education, he took a job as a police-court reporter for a Moscow daily newspaper. This routine work did not attract much attention at first. During this time, he wrote poetry but most publishers rejected his efforts. In 1898 the newspaper published his first short story called Bargamot i Garaska. The story caught the eye of Maxim Gorky. Gorky recommended that Andreyev focus entirely on writing instead of legal work. Andreyev eventually gave up his law practice and became a literary celebrity. He remained friends with Gorky for many years. Through Gorky, he joined the Moscow Sreda literary group. He published many works in Gorky's Znanie collections.
Andreyev's style combined elements of realist, naturalist, and symbolist schools. His first collection of short stories appeared in 1901. It sold a quarter-million copies quickly. This success made him a star across Russia. In 1901 he published Stena, known as The Wall. Two years later came Bezdna, or The Abyss, and V tumane, or In the Fog. These last two stories caused great commotion due to their candid treatment of sex. From 1898 to 1905 he wrote numerous stories about life in Russian provincial settings. He also covered court and prison incidents using material from his professional activity. Medical settings were another frequent subject. His interest in psychology allowed him to explore insights into the human psyche. He depicted memorable personalities who became classic characters of Russian literature. One example is the 1902 short story Mysl, translated as Thought. By the beginning of the second decade of the century, his fame began to wane. New literary powers like the Futurists rapidly came to prominence.
During the time of the first Russian revolution in 1905, Andreyev participated actively in social and political debate. He defended democratic ideals during this turbulent period. Several of his stories captured the spirit of these times. The Red Laugh appeared in 1904. Governor was published in 1905. The Seven Who Were Hanged followed in 1908. Starting from 1905 he produced many theatre dramas including The Life of Man in 1906. Tsar Hunger arrived in 1907. Black Masks came out in 1908. Anathema was released in 1909. The Days of Our Life finished the list in 1909. The Life of Man was staged by Konstantin Stanislavsky with his Moscow Art Theatre. Vsevolod Meyerhold also directed it in Saint Petersburg. These were two leading lights of Russian theatre of the twentieth century. In 1916 he became editor of the literary section of a newspaper. He supported the February Revolution of 1917 but foresaw the Bolsheviks' coming to power as catastrophic. In 1917 he moved to Finland. From his house there he addressed manifestos against the excesses of the Bolsheviks.
Andreyev completed his most well-known work, the play He Who Gets Slapped, in August 1915. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre on the 27th of October 1915. A critically successful Broadway production used an English language translation by Gregory Zilboorg. This version was staged in 1922. The work has been adapted into several films, a novel, an opera, and a musical. It remains his most-performed play internationally. A popular and acclaimed film version was produced by MGM Studios in 1924. Poor Murderer, an adaptation of his short story Thought made by Pavel Kohout, opened on Broadway in 1976. Other plays like The Sorrows of Belgium were written during the War to celebrate Belgian heroism. They were produced in the United States along with The Life of Man in 1917. The Rape of the Sabine Women appeared in 1922. Anathema followed in 1923. Some of his works were translated into English by Thomas Seltzer.
During the period from 1914 to 1929, America was avid for anything relating to Edgar Allan Poe. As Poe's Russian equivalent, translations of Andreyev's work found a ready audience in the English-speaking world. His work was extensively translated in book form as The Crushed Flower and other stories in 1916. The Little Angel and other stories also appeared that same year. When The King Loses His Head came out in 1920. Translation of his stories were published in Weird Tales magazine during the 1920s. Lazarus appeared in the March 1927 edition. Often referred to as a Russian Edgar Allan Poe, he influenced two famous American horror writers. H. P. Lovecraft kept copies of The Seven Who Were Hanged and The Red Laugh in his library at death. Robert E. Howard rated Andreyev as one of the seven most powerful writers of all time. A letter to Tevis Clyde Smith circa the 20th of February 1928 confirms this high regard.
Aside from political writings, Andreyev published little after 1915. He spent his last years in bitter poverty. An idealist and rebel, he died prematurely from heart failure. This premature death may have been hastened by his anguish over the results of the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917. He finished his last novel, Satan's Diary, just a few days before his death. He passed away on the 12th of September 1919. His granddaughter Olga Andreyeva Carlisle later published a collection of his short stories called Visions in 1987. She was the daughter of Vadim Andreyev, who lived in Paris. Vadim became a poet himself. Leonid had married Alexandra Veligorskaia first. She died of puerperal fever in 1906. They had two sons named Daniil and Vadim. In 1908 Leonid married Anna Denisevich. He decided to separate his two little boys. He kept the elder son Vadim with him and sent Daniil to live with Aleksandra's sister.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was Leonid Andreyev born and where did he grow up?
Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was born in Oryol, Russia, to a middle-class family. His mother came from an old Polish aristocratic family that had fallen on hard times.
What year did Leonid Andreyev publish his first short story Bargamot i Garaska?
The newspaper published his first short story called Bargamot i Garaska in 1898. This story caught the eye of Maxim Gorky who recommended that Andreyev focus entirely on writing instead of legal work.
Which play by Leonid Andreyev premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre on the 27th of October 1915?
Andreyev completed his most well-known work the play He Who Gets Slapped in August 1915. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre on the 27th of October 1915.
How did H. P. Lovecraft view the works of Leonid Andreyev?
H. P. Lovecraft kept copies of The Seven Who Were Hanged and The Red Laugh in his library at death. Often referred to as a Russian Edgar Allan Poe he influenced two famous American horror writers including Robert E. Howard.
When did Leonid Andreyev die and what was the cause of his premature death?
He passed away on the 12th of September 1919 from heart failure. This premature death may have been hastened by his anguish over the results of the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917.