{"product_id":"a-russian-merchants-tale-the-life-and-adventures-of-ivan-alekseevich-tolchenov-based-on-his-diary-paperback-softback-9780253220202","title":"A Russian Merchant's Tale; The Life and Adventures of Ivan Alekseevich Tolchënov, Based on His Diary (Paperback \/ softback) 9780253220202","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eA Russian Merchant's Tale\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Life and Adventures of Ivan Alekseevich Tolchënov, Based on His Diary\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDavid L. Ransel (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780253220202\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 26 November 2008\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e352 pages, 15 b\u0026amp;w photos, 5 maps\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.6 x 1.5 cm, 0.59 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Ransel's account provides a vivid analysis of educated merchants in provincial Russia . . . His skill in blending narative and analysis and the elegance of his prose make the book a pleasure to read.84.1, Spring 2010\"—\u003ci\u003eBusiness History Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \". . . Ivan Tolchenov's journal, and David Ransel's scrupulous work with it, have produced an insightful portrait of one Russian merchant and of a 'lost' Russian middle class.Vol. 32.3 Summer 2009\"—Lina Bernstein, \u003ci\u003eBIOGRAPHY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Russian merchants have never enjoyed a good press. Since the middle of the nineteenth century the spectre of the samodur - the crude grasping domestic tyrant who reigned supreme over 'a dark kingdom' . . . - has exerted a stubborn hold over popular perceptons of the merchant class. . . . The past few decades, however, have witnessed a shift away from these old habits, and David Ransel's book is an important addition to a robust field of research devoted to these middle orders. Oct. 23, 2009\"—Douglas Smith, \u003ci\u003eTLS - Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Tolchënov's Journal has found a fluid interpreter in David L. Ransel, whose patient, knowing analysis illuminates the many gems the diary has to offer . . . . [This book] portrays with unique breadth the middling, provincial world of Russia's widely scattered townsfolk . . . . Ransel's close study will bear repeated reading and help historians visualize the world of eighteenth-century Russia across many dimensions.Vol. 115 Feb. 2010\"—John Randolph, \u003ci\u003eUniversity of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Like an intrepid detective, Ransel grasps these slender clues, and, armed with an inexhaustible inquisitiveness and an imaginative modus operandi, he sets out to provide a detailed and vivid reconstruction of the life of this merchant. . . . The end result is a lively narrative with few antecedents in Russian historiography. . . . This is a book deserving of a wide and appreciative readership. As source study, methodology, argument, and narrative A Merchant's Tale offers rich rewards.Spring 2010\"—\u003ci\u003eSlavic Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Tolchnov's diary, available in a Russian edition, is a rich source. Thanks to this fertile encounter between the energetic chronicler and the gifted historian, we have here an edition that reads like a novel while offering a course in Russian history.\"—\u003ci\u003eCanadian — American Slavic Studies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"David Ransel brought . . . his extensive studies . . . [of] Russian merchants to a dignified conclusion . . . [T]his book in the future will inspire many . . . research questions.\"—\u003ci\u003eH-Soz-Kult\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \". . . [the author] used Tolchenov's detailed diary to produce a revealing book about a segment of Russian society that had been largely ignored by historians . . . .May 3, 2009\"—\u003ci\u003eHerald Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \". . . beautifully written . . . a first-rate scholarly work that challenges our perception of a non-elite person's daily life in the provincial Russia of the second half of the eighteenth century . . . . The result is microhistory at its best. Ransel manages to bring a life, turned nothing but dry text, back to life again. . . . a ground-breaking and thought-provoking contribution to the historiography of eighteenth-century Russia.Vol. 68.4 October 2009\"—Olga E. Glagoleva, \u003ci\u003eToronto, Canada\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Ransel has long since established his bona fides as a specialist in Russian social history. Here, he deploys his expertise to good effect in deciphering the intricacies of the Tolchënov diaries. Vol. 82.4, December 2010\"—\u003ci\u003eJournal of Modern History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Ransel's account serves as an excellent introduction to the complicated development of Russian society in an era of Enlightenment and change. Volume 73, No. 1 2011\"—\u003ci\u003eHISTORIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"[F]rom the thin threads of Tolchenov's sketchy diary jottings, Ransel has managed to weave a broad tapestry of a Russian merchant's life. This is expertly done by judicious use of the year-end summaries and supporting archival material.\"—\u003ci\u003eSlavonic and East European Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"A Russian Merchant's Tale will change fundamentally the way we think about imperial Russian society.\"—Daniel Kaiser, \u003ci\u003eco-editor of Reinterpreting Russian History: Readings, 860–1860s\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"David Ransel has teased out of a text largely made up of laconic references to obscure people and places a story that is compelling to read and sheds light on important aspects of imperial Russian social and cultural history. . . . An impressively researched, beautifully constructed book.\"—Alexander Martin, author of Romantics, Reformers, Reactionaries: Russian Conservative Politics in the Age of Alexander\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on the rare diary of an 18th-century Russian provincial merchant, \u003ci\u003eA Russian Merchant's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e presents a revealing portrait of Russia's little-known commercial class. By recording his daily contacts with a wide array of individuals from lords to laborers for more than 40 years, Ivan Alekseevich Tolchënov opened a window onto the education, work, birth, death, marriage, business, civic, holiday, and religious practices of a social group about which little has been known. Using the tools of microhistory to interpret the diary, David L. Ransel vividly brings to life Tolchënov's self-construction, his relations with family and society, and his entire world of aspirations, achievements, and failures. Challenging prevailing stereotypes of Russian merchants as tradition-bound and narrow-minded, \u003ci\u003eA Russian Merchant's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e offers important new insights into the social history of imperial Russia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Maps\u003cbr\u003e 1. The Setting, Education, Youth, and Marriage\u003cbr\u003e 2. Local Politics during Ivan's Youth\u003cbr\u003e 3. Junior Member of the Family Firm: Merchant Life in Dmitrov\u003cbr\u003e 4. Young Paterfamilias\u003cbr\u003e 5. Leading Citizen\u003cbr\u003e 6. Eminent Trickster\u003cbr\u003e 7. Moscow Townsman\u003cbr\u003e 8. A New Equilibrium\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e Appendix: Genealogical Table for the Family of Boris Tolchënov\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Indiana University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52525935821080,"sku":"9780253220202","price":18.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/a-russian-merchants-tale-the-life-and-adventures-of-ivan-alekseevich-tolchenov-based-on-his-diary-paperback-softback-9780253220202","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}