Durylin S.N. A Hero of Our Time by M. Yu. Lermontov (Geroy nashego vremeni M. Yu. Lermontova), 1940. In Russian

Дурылин С.Н.
Герой нашего времени М. Ю. Лермонтова.
1-е издание. Художник Б. Никифоров.
Москва: Государственное учебно-педагогическое издательство Наркомпроса РСФСР, 1940.
256 с., илл., 1 л. портр.; твердый издательский переплет, обычный формат.
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Durylin S.N.
A Hero of Our Time by M. Yu. Lermontov (Geroy nashego vremeni M. Yu. Lermontova).
1st edition. Artist B. Nikiforov.
Moscow: State Educational and Pedagogical Publishing House of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR, 1940.
256 pp., ill., 1 plate portr.; publisher’s hardcover, standard format.

This is the first edition (1940) of Sergei Nikolaevich Durylin’s (1886–1954) substantial monograph on Mikhail Lermontov’s masterpiece novel “A Hero of Our Time”. Durylin, a prominent Russian literary scholar, theologian, pedagogue, religious philosopher, and poet (who had been repressed in the 1920s and later rehabilitated), offers a deep, humanistic analysis of the work. The book is divided into two main parts: Part 1 examines the creative history of the novel (genesis, drafts, evolution of characters, biographical and historical context); Part 2 provides rich materials for study, including textual analysis, commentary on key episodes, psychological portraits of Pechorin and other figures, and discussions of themes such as fatalism, individualism, and the “superfluous man”. Lavishly illustrated with numerous drawings, portraits, and scenes from the novel by artist B. Nikiforov, plus a separate portrait plate, the volume was published by the main Soviet pedagogical press (Uchpedgiz) as an advanced school and university study aid during the late Stalinist period. In good hardcover condition, this 256-page edition is a valuable example of pre-war Soviet Lermontov scholarship, blending literary criticism with educational purpose. Highly sought after by collectors of Russian literature, Lermontoviana, 1940s Soviet literary criticism, illustrated classics editions, and works by Sergei Durylin.