Vsevolod Solovyov
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Vsevolod Sergeyevich Solovyov (; – ) was a Russian historical
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
. His most famous work is ''Chronicle of Four Generations'' (five volumes, 1881–86), an account of the fictional Gorbatov family from the time of
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
to the mid-nineteenth century. Solovyov's "atmosphere of nostalgia for the vanished age of the nobility" helps explain his "posthumous popularity among Russian émigrés." Oldest son of the historian Sergei Solovyov and brother of the
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
Vladimir Solovyov and poet Polyxena Solovyova, Vsevolod turned to writing historical fiction in 1876 with ''Princess Ostrozhskaya''. He visited
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1884 where he met
Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...
and mixed with other people in the Paris
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
scene, such as
Juliette Adam Juliette Adam (; Lambert; 4 October 1836 – 23 August 1936) was a French author and feminist. Life and career Juliette Adam was born in Verberie (Oise). She gave an account of her childhood, rendered unhappy by the dissensions of her pa ...
, Vera Jelikovsky, Blavatsky's sister, and Emilie de Morsier. By 1886 he had become a bitter and disillusioned enemy of the founder of
theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
. He abandoned his plans to promote theosophy in Russia and denounced Blavatsky as a failed spy of the
Okhrana The Department for the Protection of Public Safety and Order (), usually called the Guard Department () and commonly abbreviated in modern English sources as the Okhrana ( rus , Охрана, p=ɐˈxranə, a=Ru-охрана.ogg, t= The Guard) w ...
. At the time he was intimately involved with
Yuliana Glinka Yuliana Dmitrievna Glinka (; 1844–1918) was a Russian occultist who became associated with theosophy and claims of a Jewish conspiracy. Life Glinka was born to a prominent family in Orel, Russia. Her grandfather, Colonel Fyodor Nikolaevich ...
, who worked for
Pyotr Rachkovsky Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky (; 1853 – 1 November 1910) was chief of the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian Empire. He was based in Paris from 1885 to 1902. Activities in 1880s–1890s After the assassination of Alexander II of Russia i ...
, Paris head of the Okhrana. Of his later novels, the best known are ''The Magi'' (1889) and ''The Great Rosicrucian'' (1890), dealing with
mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Books and comics * Ms. Mystic, comic book superheroine * ''Mystic'' (c ...
of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.


Publications

* «Княжна Острожская» (« Нива», 1876) * «Юный император» («Нива», 1877) * «Капитан гренадерской роты» («Историческая библиотека», 1878) * «Юный император» (1877) * «Царь Девица» («Нива», 1878) * «Касимовская невеста» («Нива», 1879) * «Наваждение» (« Русский вестник», 1879) * «Хроника четырёх поколений»: ** «Сергей Горбатов» («Нива», 1881) ** «Вольтерьянец» («Нива», 1882) ** «Старый дом» («Нива», 1883) ** «Изгнанник» (1885) ** «Последние Горбатовы» (1886) * «Волхвы» («Север», 1889) * «Царское посольство» (1890); * «Великий розенкрейцер» (« Север», 1890) * «Новые рассказы» (1892) * «Жених царевны» (1893) * «Злые вихри» (1894) * «Цветы бездны» («Русский вестник», 1895)
''A Modern Priestess of Isis''
(1895) ranslated on behalf of the Society for Psychical Research by Walter Leaf">Society_for_Psychical_Research.html" ;"title="ranslated on behalf of the Society for Psychical Research">ranslated on behalf of the Society for Psychical Research by Walter Leaf]


References


Further reading

*Frank Podmore. (1895)
''Review: A Modern Priestess of Isis''
Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. 11: 155-162. 1849 births 1903 deaths Critics of Theosophy Parapsychologists People from Moscow Governorate Russian male novelists 19th-century novelists from the Russian Empire 19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire Writers from Moscow 20th-century Russian male writers {{Russia-writer-stub