{"id":4851,"date":"2026-05-17T12:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T09:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2026-05-17T12:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T09:01:19","slug":"book-announcement-laurence-sterne-and-his-readers-in-early-soviet-russia-the-secret-order-of-shandeans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/blog\/book-announcement-laurence-sterne-and-his-readers-in-early-soviet-russia-the-secret-order-of-shandeans\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Announcement: Laurence Sterne and his Readers in Early Soviet Russia: The Secret Order of Shandeans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
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Author and title: Peter Budrin, Laurence Sterne and his Readers in Early Soviet Russia: The Secret Order of Shandeans<\/em>
Publisher: Oxford University Press<\/strong>
Date of publication: April 2026<\/strong>
ISBN:<\/strong> ISBN: 9780198941743<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What could an eighteenth-century Anglo-Irish humorist and clergyman mean to readers living through the Soviet 1920s and 1930s? This book examines how Laurence Sterne\u2014the author of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy\u2014was read in the Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s. Bringing forth previously unknown materials, including translations, marginalia, illustrations, and private letters, it uses Sterne\u2019s comic worlds as a window into everyday intellectual culture in early Soviet and Stalin-era Russia. The book sheds new light on Soviet book history and translation culture, while recovering the often dramatic biographies of early Soviet intellectuals. As the Soviet political climate became increasingly oppressive, Sterne\u2019s works found readers among high-school students, learned philosophers, avant-garde writers, and Gulag prisoners alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe book follows and elucidates the often poignant role that Laurence Sterne played in the works and lives of Soviet writers, translators, and readers in early Soviet Russia. \u2026 Engaging, sophisticated, and nuanced, it will appeal not just to specialists but also to a broader audience.\u201d \u2014 Galya Diment, Professor Emerita, University of Washington<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sophisticated, multi-layered reception study \u2026 a significant and original contribution to revisionist Soviet historiography, translation studies, and comparative literature.\u201d \u2014  Brian James Baer, Professor of Russian and Translation Studies, Kent State University\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More information about the book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Laurence Sterne and his Readers in Early Soviet Russia – Peter Budrin – Oxford University Press<\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" The \u201cFreest Writer\u201d in Stalin\u2019s Russia | OUPblog<\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\"\" History of Literature Podcast episode:
793 The Secret Order of Shandeans: Laurence Sterne in Early Soviet Russia (with Peter Budrin) \"\"

<\/a>The introduction is available free to download until 22 May:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/book\/62527?searchresult=1<\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers ordering the book through the Oxford University Press website can use the discount code AUFLY30 for a 30% discount.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author and title: Peter Budrin, Laurence Sterne and his Readers in Early Soviet Russia: The Secret Order of ShandeansPublisher: Oxford University PressDate of publication: April 2026ISBN: ISBN: 9780198941743 Presentation What could an eighteenth-century Anglo-Irish humorist and clergyman mean to readers living through the Soviet 1920s and 1930s? This book examines how Laurence Sterne\u2014the author of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-books"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4854,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions\/4854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essenglish.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}