The Europeans: Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture

Figes (Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia) weaves this excellent, wide-ranging history of 19th-century Europe around three people: the opera singer Pauline Viardot (1821–1910); her husband, the art critic, theater manager, and translator Louis (1800–1883); and the writer Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883). The link between the arts, commerce, and railway travel in the creation of a holistic European culture is his central theme: according to Figes, “The railways enabled people across Europe to see themselves as ‘Europeans’ in ways they had not done before.” As Figes chronicles Turgenev’s writing and Pauline’s performances, there is a veritable history of the opera and European literature of the period, with appearances from Berlioz, Chopin, Dicken, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Hugo, James, Strauss, Wagner, and Zola. With the discussion of the “new” relationship between the arts and capitalism in the 19th century, Figes not only gives the details of everyone’s income and outlay but chronicles changes in publishing that birthed serialized novels, modern tourist guides, a market for translation, royalties, effective copyright protections, and literary agents. Wars (Franco-Prussian, 1870–1871; Russo-Turkish, 1877–1878) and assorted political upheavals are incorporated, and intrigues, rivalries, affairs, and gossip (Turgenev is “hopelessly in love” with Pauline; he and Dostoevsky feud) add spice. Figes’s history masterfully summarizes this period, albeit sometimes in overwhelming detail, in a persuasive and consistently enlightening fashion. Photos. (Oct.)