Page:Leskov - The Sentry and other Stories.djvu/7



At first sight it seems a little curious that this volume "The Sentry" should be the first translation from Lyeskov to appear in English. But one must recognize that even such a master as Aksakov (1791-18511859 [sic]) was only introduced to our public a few years back, and that it is really a matter of luck whether any but Russian authors of great celebrity get Englished at all. And Lyeskov, born 1831, a most original talent, moreover, flourished in the shade of unpopularity in his own country. Unfortunately for his fame Lyeskov sharply attacked the Nihilists of the sixties and seventies in two novels, "Nowhere to Go" and "At Daggers Drawn." And in retaliation he was cold-shouldered and sent to Coventry by indignant Young Russia, liberal or revolutionary. Thus after the publication of "Nowhere to Go," we find Pisarev wondering "if a single magazine will dare to print any other work by the same author, for to do so would mean the magazine losing its good name for ever." Lyeskov's name remained long under a cloud, and though