Synopses & Reviews
In this ground-breaking book, Beth Holmgren examines how—in turn-of-the-century Russia and its subject, the Kingdom of Poland—capitalism affected the elitist culture of literature, publishing, book markets, and readership. Rewriting Capitalism considers how both “serious” writers and producers of consumer culture coped with the drastic power shift from “serious” literature to market-driven literature.
Review
“Rewriting Capitalismis well written and engaging. Its comparative method is successful: the case studies of Russia and Poland offset each other nicely, together suggesting different ways in which literature could be instructive, informative and entertaining for new groups of readers. . . . an elegant and thoughtful study that will sure give rise to further research in the years to come.”
—SEER
Review
“This book has much to offer a wide audience of literary scholars and historians. Holmgren has used her prodigious linguistic skills to write a fascinating study of Russian and Polish literary culture. In the process, she has asked us all to rethink our understanding of what really divides Europe into East and West.”
—American Historical Review
Review
“Clearly written and leavened with irony and humor, Beth Holmgren’s
Rewriting Capitalism explores the diverse effects of commercialization on the literatures of late Tsarist Russia and the Kingdom of Poland. . . . . [I] recommend it highly to anyone concerned with problems of national identity and cultural mythology as well as capitalism and popular culture.”
—Russian Review
Synopsis
Holmgren examines how capitalism in turn-of-the-century Russia and the Kingdom of Poland affected the elitist culture of literature, publishing, book markets, and readership.
About the Author
Beth Holmgren is professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at Duke University. She is the author of Woman's Works in Stalin's Time: On Lidiia Chukoskaia and Nadezhda Mandelstam.