British and American Reception of The Red Laugh by Leonid Andreev

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The article deals with the English-language reception of The Red Laugh , one of the most well-known of Leonid Andreev’s texts both in Russia and abroad. As the examples of this reception, a number of newspaper and magazine publications, memoirs, translators’ prefaces, and works of fiction are analyzed. There exist several waves of interest in Andreev’s story. They could be explained either by the appearance of new translations or by significant historic events of the time (the Russian Revolution, World Wars I and II). Andreev’s critics in Britain and America place his story in a variety of contexts - historical, social, cultural, and literary. Some literary parallels are quite expected and seem to come from Russian sources (parallels with Gorky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev), others are completely original and ‘indigenous’ to Britain and America (commentators of Andreev’s text see its resemblance with the horror and “weird” fiction of Poe, Hawthorne, Henry James, as well as with some works of war fiction, such as The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane). A wide spectrum of characteristics is given to the author of The Red Laugh ; he is perceived as a realist, expressionist, an author of horror and weird fiction, a symbolist, and a decadent.

About the authors

Ekaterina A. Markova

A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

Author for correspondence.
Email: glazkova1992@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5954-1440

PhD, Senior Researcher

25a Povarskaya St, Moscow, 121069, Russian Federation; 10/2 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation

References

  1. “The Crimson Laughter” Terrifies the Czar (1905, July 2). The New York Times, 40.
  2. “The Red Laugh.” (1905, December 28) Hull Daily Mail, 2.
  3. “The Red Laugh” (1905, November 11). Bargoed Journal, 7.
  4. A Nation of Triflers. (1912, November 23). Liverpool Echo, 4.
  5. A Russian Novelist’s Picture of War. (1915, July 4). The New York Times Book Review, 245.
  6. Among the Books (1915, January 2). Daily Herald, 12.
  7. Anderson, Sh. (1947). The Sherwood Anderson Reader. Boston (MA): Houghton Mifflin Co.
  8. Andreev, L. (1994). S. O. S. Diary (1914–1919). Letters (1917–1919).
  9. Articles and Interviews (1919). Contemporaries’ Memoirs (1918–1919). Moscow, Saint-Petersburg: ATHENEUM-FENIKS Publ., 1994.
  10. Andreyev — A New Portent in Russian Literature. (1908) Current Opinion, 45(3), 282– 286.
  11. Anglo-German Amity. (1910, August 18). Nottingham Journal, 4.
  12. Anthology of Russian Literature (1902). New York/London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
  13. Asheshov, N. (1905). From Life and Literature. A New Work of L. Andreev. Obrazovanie, (2), p. 37. (In Russ.)
  14. At Moscow. (1905, February 24). The Butte Daily Post, 5.
  15. Belles Lettres. (1905, December). The Westminster Review, 712–715.
  16. Bely, A. (2012). Apocalypse in Russian Literature. Andrey Bely. Collected Works. Vol. 8. Moscow: Respublika Publ. P. 478–490. (In Russ.)
  17. Bernstein, H. (1908, September 4). With the Author of “Red Laughter”. The New York Times, 487.
  18. Boeva, G.N. (2018). On the Literary Reputation of Leonid Andreev: The Notion of “leonidandreevshina”. Saint-Petersburg University Bulletin. Language and Literature, 15(1), 17–30. (In Russ.)
  19. Boeva, G.N. (2016). The Phenomenon of Leonid Andreev and the Epoch of Modernism: Poetics, Reception, Literary Contacts. Doctor Hab. Diss. Saint-Petersburg. (In Russ.) Bondareva, N.A. (2005). Leonid Andreev and German Expressionism: PhD Diss. Orel. (In Russ.)
  20. Briusov, V. Russia (1902, July-December). The Athenaeum, 24–26.
  21. Briusov, V. Russia (1903, July-December). The Athenaeum, 22–25.
  22. Briusov, V. Russia (1904, September 3). The Athenaeum, 312–314.
  23. Briusov, V. Russian Literature (1905, July-December). The Athenaeum, 500–502.
  24. Burke, R. (1998). The Robert E. Howard Bookshelf. United Press Association. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://howardhistory.com/the-robert-e-howard-bookshelf/ Campaigning Described by a Russian (1915, July 5). The New York Times, 6.
  25. Civilized Warfare (1914, September 19). The Labor World, 4.
  26. Columbian stirs “chi” with his futurist art (1915, September 4). The Evening Missourian, 1.
  27. Davies, R. (2012). A Bibliography of English Translations of Leonid Andreev. In Leonid Andreev: Research and Materials. Part 2 (pp. 310–329). (In Russ.)
  28. Davies, R., Rogatchevski, A. (2011). Groping in the Dark: Leonid Andreev and the Hogarth Press. Toronto Slavic Quarterly, (3), 66–90.
  29. E.F.E. (1915, January 15). Warfare and its Horrors. Boston Evening Transcript, 6.
  30. Eder, R. (1987, December 9). Some of the Best of Russian Literature. The Los Angeles Times, 88.
  31. Edinburgh Evening News (1914, December 28), 5.
  32. Ellis, C.B. (1914, October 4). The Peace-Keeper. The Oregon Daily Journal, 6.
  33. Espagne, M. (2018). History of Civilizations as Cultural Transfer. Moscow: NLO Publ., 2018. (In Russ.)
  34. Everard, L.C. (1914, August 14). The Cinema and the War. Daily Herald, 5.
  35. Goldner, E.J. (2001). Arguing with Pictures: Race, Class and the Formation of Popular Abolitionism Through Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Journal of American & Comparative Cultures, (24), 71–84.
  36. Gorky’s Rival In Russia (1905, August 1). Omaha Daily Bee, 7.
  37. Grigoriev, A.L. (1972). Leonid Andreev in World Literary Process. Russkaya Literatura, (3), 190–204. (In Russ.)
  38. Hairulina, O.I. (2019). The Reception of Leonid Andreev’s Drama in Germany: PhD Diss. Moscow. (In Russ.)
  39. Hedges, M.H. (1923, May 17). Andreyev’s Red Laugh Converted into a Play by Dean Jensen. The Minneapolis Star, 7.
  40. Hewetson, G.B. (1908). The Mountains: And Other Stories. London: Sisley’s, 1908.
  41. Howard, P. (1916, November 1). Europe’s Carnal House. Socialist, 14.
  42. Howard, R.E. (1998). Letter to Tevis Clyde Smith (20 February 1928)
  43. Ivanov, Vyach. (1905). On “Red Laugh” and “Right Madness”. Vesy, (3), 43. (In Russ.)
  44. Joshi, S.T. (2017). Lovecraft’s Library: A Catalogue. New York: Hippocampus Press.
  45. Ken, L.V. (1975). Leonid Andreev and German Expressionism. In Andreevsky Sbornik.
  46. Issledovaniya i Materialy (Vol. 37). Kursk. (In Russ.)
  47. L.B. (1906, January 29). Dundee Unemployed. Dundee Evening Telegraph, 2.
  48. Lenart, E. (1923, May 17) Portal Players Give Group of One-Act Plays. Star Tribune, 11.
  49. Leonid Andreev, Apostle of the Terrible (1912). Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, 90(536), 238.
  50. Literary Notes and News (1903, October 24). Academy and Literature, 431–434.
  51. Meskin, V.A. (2019). Leonid Andreev and Maksim Gorky: A Point of View from the XXI Century. Gumanitarnaya Paradigma, 3(10), 54–65. (In Russ.)
  52. Moderwell, H.K. (1915, April 24). Andreieff: Russian Dramatist Now Marching Into the Western World. Boston Evening Transcript, 8.
  53. New Leaves (1906, January 6). Justice, 6.
  54. O’Casey, S. (1976). Autobiographies (Vol. II). London: Macmillan & Co.
  55. P.A.H. (1905, November 16). A Literary Nightmare. The Abroath Herald, 2.
  56. Powys, J.C. (1934). Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster.
  57. Preface (1905). The Red Laugh (pp. vii–viii). London: T. Fisher Unwin.
  58. R.J.B. (1916, April 4). News of the Fine Arts. The Kansas City Star, 2B.
  59. Rishina, R. (2012). “Neverending Wilderness of Despair”: Leonid Andreev and American Optimism. In Leonid Andreev: Materials and Research. Part. 2 (pp. 180–201). Мoscow: IWL RAS Publ. (In Russ.)
  60. Role, S. (2012). Leonid Andreev’s Reception in France. In Leonid Andreev: Materials and Research. Part. 2 (pp. 209–218). Мoscow: IWL RAS Publ. (In Russ.)
  61. Scarborough, D. (1917). The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction. New York/London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
  62. Seltzer, T. (1903, July 5). Recreation of Russia’s Young Author. Pittsburgh daily Post, 21.
  63. Shishkina, L.I. (2020). On Literary Reputation and the Role of Mass Media in its development (on the Example of Leonid Andreev’s Prose). Upravlencheskoe Konsultirovanie, (12), 177–186. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2020-12-177-186
  64. The just resurrection of Leonid Andreyev (1908, January 5). The San Francisco Examiner, 21.
  65. The Literary Week (1905, October 21). Academy and Literature, 1091–1094.
  66. The Red Laugh (1905, December 22). The Labour Leader, 455.
  67. The Red Laugh (1905, November 20) Leeds Mercury, 2.
  68. The Red Laugh (1905, October 27). Clarion, 4.
  69. The Situation in Spain, Italy and Russia (1902) The American Monthly Review of Reviews, 26(153), 444.
  70. Toper, P.M. (2008). The Encyclopedia of Expressionism. The Encyclopedia of Expressionism (pp. 5–20). Moscow: IWL RAS Publ. (In Russ.)
  71. Wilson, C. (1962). The Strength to Dream. London: Cox & Wyman Ltd.
  72. Writers and Books. The Literary World of Today (1903, November 11). Boston Evening Transcript, 20.
  73. Zharinov, E.V. (2017). A History of the Genre of “Horror” in English and American Literature. In Historical and Literary Sources of Mass Literature. Мoscow: Flinta Publ. (In Russ.)

Copyright (c) 2022 Markova E.A.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies