''My Past and Thoughts'' () is an extensive

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism (being an ideological ancestor of the Narodniki, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Trudo ...

, which he started in the early 1850s and continued to expand and revise throughout his later life. Serialized in ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'', the book in its full form came out as a separate edition after its author's death. In Herzen's lifetime the major parts of the book were translated into English (1855),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(1855) and French (1860-1862). ''My Past and Thoughts'' gives a panoramic view on the

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and political life in Russian Empire as well as the European West of the mid-19th century. It is considered to be the classic of Russian literature.Mirsky, D. S.
История русской литературы с древнейших времен до 1925 года
/ Пер. с англ. Р. Зерновой. — London: Overseas Publications Interchange Ltd, 1992. — С. 331—339.

Literary significance

Soviet critic Y. Elsberg calls the book "the novel about a Russian revolutionary and thinker" "with all the contradictions of his inner world" and writes that by its form ''My Past and Thoughts'' is a complex combination of memoirs, historical chronicle novel, diary, letters and a biography.

Structure and publication

* Part I. Chapters 1-7. "Childhood and University (1812—1834)". Herzen's life in his father's house. First published in ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'', 1856, Vol.2. The Supplement, "A. Polezhayev", first appeared in "Jail and Exile. From the Notes of Iskander ("Тюрьма и ссылка. Из записок Искандера"), London, 1854. * Part II. Chapters 8-18. "Imprisonment and Exile (1834—1838)". The court case and deportation. "Imprisonment and Exile. From the Notes of Iskander ("Тюрьма и ссылка. Из записок Искандера"), London, 1854. * Part III. Chapters 19-24. "Vladimir-on-Klyazma (1838—1839)". The story of his relationship with Natalya Zakharyina. ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'', 1857, Vol.3 * Part IV. "Moscow, Petersburg and Novgorod (1840—1847)". On zapadnichestvo and slavyanofilstvo. ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'': 1855 (Vol.1), 1858 (Vol.4), fragments in 1861 (Vol. 6) and 1862 (Vol. 7, part 2). Two chapters ("N.Kh. Ketcher" and "An 1844 Episode") were published posthumously. * Part V. "Paris, Italy, Paris (1847—1852). Before and After the Revolution". Herzen's first years abroad. ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'': 1855 (Vols. I, IV), 1859 (Vol. V). What the author called his "most cherished part" of the book, "The Story of a Family Drama" was published posthumously. * Part VI. "England (1852—1864)". On his life in London after his wife's death. Originally published in fragments, in 1859-1869, in '' Kolokol'' and ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'' (n all, 5 chapters have been published in full in Herzen's lifetime). * Part VII. "Russian Emigration". A set of sketches on

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

, Vasily Kelsiyev and Vladimir Pecherin, among others. Published mostly posthumously ("The Posthumous Collection of A.I. Herzen's Work'', Geneva, 1870). * Part VIII. (1865—1868). On Herzen's European journeys. ''Polyarnaya Zvezda'', 1869, Vol. VIII. (In some editions this is the final part of the book).Commentaries to Part VIII
/ref> * Part IX. "Old Letters". Correspondence with Vissarion Belinsky, Pyotr Chaadayev, Timofey Granovsky and others.

References

{{reflist, 2 1870 non-fiction books Literary memoirs Russian memoirs Russian autobiographies 1870 Russian novels