Abstract:
The 1st volume of the Complete Works of Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy includes the writer’s works of 1900−1910. It was during this period that the author developed distinctive features of his individual style of writing, combining a colorfully written way of life and the distinctness of the characters, a colloquial language rich in vernacular and light irony penetrating the narrative. A number of novellas and short stories published in the book (“Arkhip,” “The Death of the Nalymovs,” “The Cockerel (A Week in Turenev),” “Mishuka Nalymov (Trans-Volga Region),” “The Dreamer (Aggey Korovin),” etc.), as well as the novel Eccentrics, are united by a common theme, that is the life of the provincial Trans-Volga nobility, among whom the author spent his childhood, adolescence and youth. The publication is addressed to both specialist philologists and a wide range of readers.
Keywords: A.N. Tolstoy, Complete Works, history of the creation of works, textual criticism, scientific commentary.