In this book, first published in 1943, Janko Lavrin provides an overview of the development of the Russian novel by placing the great Russian novelists – Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Gorky, Gogol – in relation to their native literature and their social, political and cultural backgrounds. An Introduction to the Russian Novel will appeal particularly to students of Russian literature and culture as well as those interested in the development of the novel in general.