Contains the following classic Russian short stories: MUMU by Ivan Turgenev, THE SHOT by Alexander Poushkin, ST. JOHN'S EVE by Nikolai Gogol, AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE by Leo Tolstoy.

A Sportsman's Sketches (also known as The Hunting Sketches and Sketches from a Hunter's Album) is an 1852 collection of short stories by Ivan Turgenev. It was the first major writing that gained him recognition. He wrote this collection of short stories based on his own observations while hunting at his mother's estate at Spasskoye, where he learned of the abuse of the peasants and the injustices of the Russian system that constrained them. The frequent abuse of Turgenev by his mother certainly had an effect on this work. The stories were first published singly in The Contemporary before appearing in 1852 in book form. He was about to give up writing when the first story, "Khor and Kalinich", was well received. This work is part of the Russian realist tradition in that the narrator is usually an uncommitted observer of the people he meets. The work as a whole actually led to Turgenev's house arrest (part of the reason, the other being his epitaph to Nikolai Gogol) at Spasskoye. It was also partially responsible for the abolition of serfdom in Russia.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol 31 March 1809 – 4 March 1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist, novelist and short story writer.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism and the grotesque ("The Nose", "Viy", "The Overcoat," "Nevsky Prospekt"). His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (The Government Inspector, Dead Souls), leading to his eventual exile. The novel Taras Bulba (1835) and the play Marriage (1842), along with the short stories "Diary of a Madman", "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", "The Portrait" and "The Carriage", round out the tally of his best-known works.

This book is an anthology of short stories written by Russian authors. Works and authors featured include Mumu (Ivan Turgenev), The Shot (Alexander Pushkin), and St. John's Eve (Nikolai Gogol).

How far will a man go for love? The short story "St. John's Eve" by Nikolai Gogol from the 19th century recounts the sinister events that transpired in a poor hamlet generations ago, as relayed by the narrator's grandfather. In a village that no longer exists, a young man called Petro falls head over heels for a beauty, whose father disapproves of the union. Petro is determined to win the hand of the woman of her choosing and solicits an ominous local associated with the devil himself to help him. The consequences are wicked and dangerous and cannot be reversed. The story provided inspiration for Modest Mussorgsky's tone poem Night on Bald Mountain and was adapted into the Soviet-Ukrainian movie The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968). Ukrainian-born writer and dramatist Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) is considered one of the most prominent figures in Russian literature. His unconventional works are often touched by folklore or a hint of the unusual, providing the reader with surprising turns and characters. Gogol has been attached to a range of different literary styles, including Russian literary realism and even surrealism. His stories include the short story "The Nose" and the famous satirical novel Dead Souls. Gogol's works have inspired numerous stage, film and television adaptations including the movie Inspector General (1949), based loosely on his play with the same name.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.