Lidiya Alekseevna Charskaya is a Russian children's writer, poetess, and actress.

Family history and birth

Lydia Charskaya was born, presumably, on January 31, 1875 in Tsarskoye Selo; Some sources indicate the Caucasus as her place of birth, and there are also references to the fact that the writer was actually born in 1876.

There is little information about her family. Charskaya's father was a military engineer, Colonel Alexey Aleksandrovich Voronov, her mother, about whom practically nothing is known, died in childbirth (if you believe Charskaya's autobiographical story "For What?", she was raised mainly by the sisters of her late mother). The father later remarried; in some of her works the writer mentions that she had stepbrothers and sisters.

Early years

Lydia spent seven years (1886-1893) at the Pavlovsk Women's Institute in St. Petersburg. The impressions of institute life became material for her future books. Already at the age of ten she was composing poetry, and from the age of 15 she kept a diary, the entries in which were partially preserved.

At the age of 18, having graduated with honors from college, she married officer B. Churilov, but the marriage was short-lived. Soon he left for Siberia for his duty station, leaving his wife and newborn son. Lidia Alekseevna entered the Drama courses at the Imperial Theater School in St. Petersburg.

In 1898, after graduation, she entered the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky Imperial Theater, where she served until 1924. Mostly she played minor, episodic roles. They didn’t pay too much for them, and the young actress, who was raising her son Yuri on her own, was sorely short of money to live on. In fact, it was the lack of funds that pushed Lidia Alekseevna into writing.

Hard Times

In 1917, the revolution broke out, and Charskaya practically ceased to be published. Noble origins, “bourgeois-philistine views” - everything spoke not in favor of the writer. In 1924, she left the theater and lived on an acting pension, obtained, oddly enough, by Chukovsky, who was merciless to the writer’s work.

The children still enjoyed reading her books, despite the fact that it was not at all easy to get them: eyewitnesses recalled that neighboring children brought food and even money to Lydia Alekseevna, who in return gave them her manuscripts to read. It is unknown what happened to the writer’s son, Yuri. It is believed that he died during the Civil War, but according to some sources he remained alive and served in the Far East in the thirties.

Lydia Charskaya died in 1937 in Leningrad and was buried at the Smolensk cemetery.

In just 20 years of creativity, about 80 works were published from the writer’s pen.

Thank God: a great writer has appeared in Russia again, and I am in a hurry to bring this joy to Russia as soon as possible.

The new genius was discovered by the little girl Lelya. Several years ago Lelya stated in the press:

“Of the great Russian writers, I consider my favorite writer L.A. Charskaya."

And the girl Lyalya picked up:

“I have two favorite writers: Pushkin and Charskaya.”<…>

I read these reviews in the magazine “Dusushevnoye Slovo”, where it has long been customary to publish children’s correspondence, and I was heartily glad that new genius immediately appreciated and recognized by everyone. Usually we honor our great people only in the cemetery, but Charskaya, fortunately, achieved triumphs during her lifetime. All of young Russia bows before her, all the Lilechkas, Lyalechki and Lyolechki.<…>

Jules Verne was still considered our children's idol. But where is Jules Verne from Charskaya? According to one library report, children requested the following essays last year:

Charskaya - 790 times,
Jules Verne - 232 times.

Old man Jules Verne can't keep up with her!<…>

And not only all of Russia, from Tiflis to Tomsk, but also all of Europe is in love with Lydia Alekseevna; The French, Germans, and English vied with each other to translate her books, and in the Czech Republic, for example, readers are so fascinated by her that, according to the testimony of the same “Soulful Word,” they persistently call her to Prague: make her happy! But, to the joy of Russia, our great compatriot did not abandon us, did not orphan us, and her grateful homeland adequately rewarded her: on October 3, 1910, an all-Russian subscription was opened for the establishment (at an institute or gymnasium) of a scholarship for L. Charskaya. Don’t say that we don’t know how to honor our great people!

I leaf through Charskaya’s books and am also intoxicated to the point of speechlessness. They have such a thunderous atmosphere that anyone who finds themselves there immediately faints. This is what I like best. With Charskaya, even four-year-old children cannot survive without fainting. Like a tornado, she swoops down on them and throws them to the ground unconscious.<…>

Three fainting spells per book is the usual norm.

You get so used to it that it’s somehow even insulting when in the story “Lyuda Vlassovskaya” the heroine loses consciousness only once. They strangle her and cut her, but she doesn’t care. Really, it’s not even polite. Such a thick book, and only one fainting spell! Or another magnificent story about the girl Nina Voronskaya: the story is not finished yet, and Nina fell into insensibility exactly eleven times! And how can Charskaya’s heroes survive at least a week without fainting? All she cares about is driving these children into insensibility. Hurricanes, fires, robbers, gunshots, wild animals, the floods keep pouring down on them endlessly - and some girl was kidnapped by the gypsies and they are tormenting and torturing her; and the other was captured by the Tatars and will be killed this minute; and this one belongs to the escaped convicts, and they will certainly kill her, and here is a shipwreck, and here is a train collision...<…>

These wonderful children's books are some kind of horror factory, and this is how amazing the little girl Lizochka gets in one of them:

“Needles of fear ran over my body (needles like goosebumps! - K.Ch.)… Sticky sweat appeared on my forehead… My hair separated from my skin, and my teeth began to chatter in my mouth… My eyes closed in horror” (“White Pelerins”, Ch. 19).

And a few lines later, of course: “I screamed loudly and lost consciousness.”

Needless to say, these little children constantly run away from home - into the wilds, into the tundra, into the seas, into the oceans, every minute they hang over bottomless abysses and, for every slightest reason, attempt suicide.

I run with inflamed eyes through these fire-breathing books and come across this page: a little girl, a cripple, fell to her knees in front of her friend, kisses her hands, feet and whispers, trembling hysterically: “I am a villain before you, and you... you are a saint. I worship you!

This is from Charskaya’s story “Notes of a Little Schoolgirl.” A girl kisses someone's feet! Oh, how her little heart must have hurt, screamed, and broken, before in repentant hysterics she fell to the ground in front of her friend.

Do you understand, dear Lyalechka, what it is like when a tiny child suddenly hates himself to the point of fury, and wants to spit on himself, and, in a thirst for self-humiliation, sucks his lips into your feet: “Beat me, trample me, humiliate me: I am a villain, and you - holy!

To calm down, I pick up another book with the serene title “Lucky.” But even in it I read with horror how this same Lucky One falls to his knees in front of someone and babbles, trembling hysterically: “Oh, drive me away, drive me away! I'm not worth your affection!<…>

I worry, I suffer, but in the new book - “The Click” - the little boy again kisses someone’s boots, begging: “Whip me half to death with a whip!”<…>

And it becomes easier for me: I begin to notice with joy that masochistic kissing of hands and feet is the most common activity among these hysterical juveniles.<…>

I saw that Charskaya’s hysterics were daily, regular, “from three to seven and a half.” Not hysteria, but rather gymnastics. So what should I worry about! She has become so skilled at these fainting spells, writhings, and convulsions that she makes them in whole batches (as if she were stuffing cigarettes); convulsions are her craft, tears are her constant profession, and she carefully fabricates the same “horror” dozens and hundreds of times. And it even began to seem to me that there was no Charskaya in the world, but simply that in the editorial office of “The Sincere Word,” somewhere in a secret closet, there was a wind-up device with a dozen small buttons, and above each button there was an inscription: “Horror,” “Fainting.” ”, “Illness”, “Hysteria”, “Villainy”, “Heroism”, “Feat” - and that some sleepy man, at least an editorial employee, on Tuesdays and Saturdays will roll up his sleeves, go up to the equipment, click the buttons , and in two or three hours a new inspired story is ready, exciting, volcanically stormy - and, sobbing over its pages, which of the children will guess that there is not the slightest participation of the soul, but everything is cogs, springs, wheels!..

Of course I'm happy to welcome this new victory mechanics. After all, how many feelings, how much inspiration did a person expend to create a “work of art”! Now he is finally free from unnecessary creative torment!

But still, something dull, soulless and machine-like seems to be in these pages. Like any factory product, like any bulk product, the books created by this machine are extremely similar to each other, and only by the color of the binding can we distinguish them.<…>

What is this, beloved Lidia Alekseevna? How did it happen that you turned into a machine? How much longer will you have to fabricate the same horrors, the same hysterics, the same catastrophes and fainting from ready-made models? Who cursed you like this terrible curse? How sickened you must be with these worn-out words, worn-out images, outdated, familiar effects, and with what gnashing of teeth, painfully despising yourself, you must say for the thousandth time all the same, all the same, all the same ...

But, fortunately, you still have not guessed about your shame, and when simple-minded babies sing of you as Pushkin’s happy rival, you take these hymns for granted. I also consider you a genius, a genius of vulgarity. Turn your soul into a machine, feel and think by inertia! If any Durkheim wants to write a philosophical treatise “On vulgarity,” I recommend to him forty volumes of the works of Lydia Charskaya. Better material he can't find it. Here all the shades and overflows of this little-studied social phenomenon are so fully and richly presented: banality, vulgarity, triviality, bad taste, pharisaism, hypocrisy, philistinism, inertia (a huge collection! a magnificent museum!) that science should be grateful to the hardworking writer.

Charskaya is especially inaccessible in the vulgarity of the patriotic barracks: “Powerful Double Headed Eagle“, “The monarch adored by Russia” is at her every step, and it’s no wonder that the non-commissioned Prishibeevs greet her with joyful neighing, and some Revunov-Karaulov even gave the following order: “Mrs. Charskaya’s book should be purchased in every family having any contact... with the cavalry.”<…>

No wonder the Main Directorate of Military educational institutions so strongly recommends it to company libraries cadet corps: her books are the best inoculation of barracks feelings in children's souls. But did the authorities really not notice that she even produces her own cheers like a machine: “The Russians fled on their heels, crumbling those running like mush,” she writes in “The Terrible Squad.”

“The handsome chieftain did not stop chopping the enemy with his saber for a minute.”

“It started out crumbly...”<…>

All he knows, the poor fellow, is “crumb”, “crumb”, “crumb” - she charged one thing like a gramophone. So even though you read: “Hurray,” you feel: “I don’t give a damn.” Dead, devastated soul! And when it came to the point that the Christ-loving army “shredded” the defenseless sleepers at night, she babbled with an institute animus: “The sweet feeling of satisfied revenge!”

And, touching, she told the children how one Christ-loving warrior roasted the heels of the “non-believers”; in fact, he did not roast himself, but only ordered them to be roasted; he himself walked away and turned away, and because he turned away, Charskaya was touched (but not quite correctly!) exclaimed: “Generous, kind soul!”

Now that the Russian state school has suffered complete bankruptcy even in the eyes of Peredonov, only Charskaya can tell with emotion how in some disgusting cages they are raising unnecessary for life, intimidated, superstitious, like fools, greedy, voluptuous-dreamy, lisping, lying hysterics .<…>

This whole system seems to be deliberately aimed at making talented, impressionable girls turn out to be empty prissy girls with a chicken worldview and an empty soul. Let’s not be too strict with our beloved Lydia Alekseevna!

She was a very prolific author, composing three or four stories or novels a year, as well as poems, fairy tales, songs, stories “for little ones” and “for youth.” It was published both in the adult “New World” and in the children’s “Soulful Word”. The Academic Committee of the Ministry of Public Education almost invariably recommended her books to the libraries of educational institutions, and the Main Directorate of Military Educational Institutions - to the company libraries of cadet corps.

"L. A. Charskaya is a talented reteller of historical events for middle-aged children,” wrote “Voice of Moscow”. “The name of L.A. Charskaya, as a writer for children, enjoys deserved popularity. Her stories are lively, fascinating and read with pleasure not only by children, but also by adults,” said another review of her story “The Princess’s Page.” And the reviewer of Moskovskie Vedomosti considered just one word quite convincing - it was enough when he asserted that “the name of L. A. Charskaya, as talented writer books for young people, is enough known that it can itself serve as a sufficient recommendation for this book."

And finally - perhaps the first in terms of authority - the opinion of the teacher and historian of Russian children's literature N.V. Chekhov: “If we consider the most popular writer one whose writings diverge the greatest number copies, then Ms. L. Charskaya should currently be recognized as the most popular children's writer. An actress by profession, Ms. Charskaya has a vivid imagination and a completely literary style. Her works entirely belong to the romantic trend in children's literature: their main interest is in the entertaining nature of the story, extraordinary adventures and outstanding characters of heroes and heroines." Etc., etc.

Her fame grew year by year. "News bookstores Partnership M. O. Wolf" (a most Charskaya's novels and stories were published in Wolf's luxurious editions) and from three to ten of her books were advertised in each issue. In the “Rossica” section of the same “Izvestia” the reader was informed about the translations of Charskaya’s works into French, Czech and German and about rave reviews on these books of the Western European press. Component Izvestia, the monthly Bulletin of Literature, published detailed reviews of Ms. Charskaya’s books. One of them began like this:

“An adult has the right to have his favorite books, why not provide this right little man- to a child, if there is nothing dangerous or harmful in this favorite reading? Why, taking advantage of the strong, encroach on his tastes and sympathies and try to remake them in his own way?

These words,” the reviewer continued, “taken by me from the well-known critical index “What should the people read?” always come to mind when I hear with what enthusiasm and delight both children and teenagers read the works of L. A. Charskaya.

Indeed, the success of the author of “Princess Javakh” among readers is an almost unprecedented phenomenon, one might even say spontaneous. But Ms. Charskaya is not only read: she is loved. Meanwhile for lately True, there are few and isolated voices against Ms. Charskaya. However, unsuccessfully: children and youth are for Charskaya.”

And the flow of delight raged stronger and stronger.

Two lengthy articles that appeared later in the pedagogical press and contained reproaches from Charskaya that her works from institute life were “a libel against teachers” and that girls found in them “an echo of awakened sexual feelings,” were clearly unable to contain this flow. On the contrary, with their confusion and unliterary claims, they only fueled the excitement around the popular name.

And suddenly - among the growing hymns, among the rapturous voices “for glory” - the voice of Korney Chukovsky was heard. On September 9, 1912, his article “Charskaya” was published in the Sunday issue of the Rech newspaper.

“Thank God: a great writer has appeared in Russia again, and I am in a hurry to please Russia with this joy.

The new genius was discovered by the little girl Lelya. Several years ago Lelya stated in the press:

— Of the great Russian writers, I consider L. A. Charskaya my favorite writer.

And the girl Lyalya picked up:

— I have two favorite writers: Pushkin and Charskaya.

And the girl Lilya added:

— I consider Lermontov, Gogol and Charskaya to be my favorite writers.

I read these reviews in children's magazine“Sincere Word,” where it has long been customary to publish children’s correspondence, I was heartily glad that the new genius was immediately appreciated and recognized by everyone. Usually we honor our great people only in the cemetery, but Charskaya, fortunately, achieved triumphs during her lifetime. All of young Russia bows down before her, all the Lilechkas, and Lyalechkas, and Lelechki.”

The article was full of critical sarcasm. “Jules Verne was still considered our children's idol. But where is Jules Verne from Charskaya!

K. Chukovsky ridiculed the “wonderful children’s books of the “adored Lydia Alekseevna,” calling them a “horror factory,” because, according to his observation, not a single story by Charskaya was complete without a series of horrors, fainting, and hysterics. “She has become so skilled at these fainting spells, writhings, convulsions that she produces them in whole batches (as if she were stuffing cigarettes!): convulsions are her craft, tears are her constant profession, and she carefully fabricates tens and hundreds of the same “horror” once. And it even began to seem to me that there was no Charskaya in the world, but simply that in the editorial office of “The Sincere Word,” somewhere in a secret closet, there was a winding device with a dozen small buttons, and above each button the inscription: Horror. - Fainting. - Disease. - Hysterical. - Villainy. - Heroism. “It’s a feat,” and that some sleepy man, at least an editorial employee, will roll up his sleeves on Tuesdays and Saturdays, go up to the apparatus, click the buttons, and in two or three hours a new inspired story will be ready, gambling, volcanically stormy, - and, sobbing over its pages, which of the children will guess that there is not the slightest participation of the soul, but all cogs, springs, wheels!.. Of course, I am glad to welcome this new victory of mechanics. After all, how many feelings, how many inspirations has a person spent before to create a “work of art”! Now, finally, he is free from unnecessary creative torment!

With a precise and caustic demonstration of end-to-end phrases and words, Chukovsky revealed Charskaya’s simple poetics.

“What is this, beloved Lidia Alekseevna? - asked the critic. - How did it happen that you turned into a machine? How much longer will you have to fabricate the same horrors, the same hysterics, the same catastrophes and fainting from ready-made models? Who cursed you with such a terrible curse? How disgusted you must be with these worn-out words, worn-out images, outdated, familiar effects, and with what gnashing of teeth, painfully despising yourself, you must bring out for the thousandth time all the same, all the same, all the same...

But, fortunately, you still have not guessed about your shame, and when simple-minded babies sing you as a happy rival of Pushkin, as an unattainably great genius, you take these hymns for granted... I, too, consider you a genius, but truly , a genius of vulgarity. To turn your soul into a machine means to become vulgar: to feel and think by inertia. If any Durkheim wants to write a philosophical treatise “On vulgarity,” I recommend to him forty volumes of the works of Lydia Charskaya. He couldn't find better material. Here all the shades and overflows of this little-studied social phenomenon are so fully and richly presented: banality, vulgarity, triviality, bad taste, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, philistinism, inertia (a huge collection! a magnificent museum!) that science should be grateful to the hardworking writer.”

“Particularly inaccessible, according to the critic, is Charskaya in the vulgarity of the patriotic barracks...”, “her books are the best inoculation of children’s souls with barracks feelings.” And the institution she glorifies (“Luda Vlassovskaya”, “White Capes”, “Big John” and others) “is a nest of abomination, a dungeon for the mutilation of a child’s soul.”

Chukovsky left no stone unturned from the literary reputation of the “adored Lydia Alekseevna”, from the empty assurances of reviewers that the writer herself has a “sensitive” heart, and parents and teachers themselves can “be convinced of the beneficial influence literary activity» Charskoy.

K. Chukovsky’s article had a deafening resonance, and undoubtedly in counterbalance to it, in order to somehow neutralize it, Wolf published the following year, 1913, Viktor Rusakov’s brochure “Why do children love Charskaya?” It more than once refers to Chukovsky as “the worst enemy and detractor” of Charskaya, and the tone of his article is characterized as “not literary and devoid of elementary decency.”

Decades later, in our days, Charskaya’s readership success, however, was assessed differently, sometimes in completely opposite ways. “... Klavdiya Lukashevich and Lydia Charskaya were, in essence, modest suppliers of Wolf and Devrien. They are not to blame for their success…” wrote S. Marshak in 1933. “... Charskaya was a dizzying success, and now, having realized how difficult it is to achieve success, I do not at all find that her success was undeserved,” Vera Panova wrote much later.

Leonid Borisov recalls how at the beginning of 1920, the actress of the Bolshoi Drama Theater and at that time the deputy commissioner of education for artistic affairs in Petrograd, M. F. Andreeva, visited Wolf’s warehouse, the products of which were subject to requisition. She asked: “Is Charskaya there?” and took several of her books. Three weeks later, M.F. Andreeva returned them with the words: “I don’t understand how they could publish Charskaya’s works, why, at least, no one edited it, removed the falsehood and sometimes, very often, illiterate expressions? Someone, I forgot who exactly, gave this writer a good treatment...”

This “someone” was Korney Chukovsky. His article about Charskaya was remembered by his contemporaries.

So, everything is clear: a mocking, merciless critic, who hates craftsmanship and falsehood in literature, dealt with the “children’s idol,” or rather, the literary idol of petty-bourgeois Russia.

Here, perhaps, ends what is known about this very significant literary episode of the 900s. But recently, new documents have been discovered that tell about the relationship between Chukovsky and Charskaya ten years after the publication of his article. These relationships developed, as it were, outside of literature, they lie beyond its boundaries, but perhaps that is why they speak most powerfully about the relationships of people in literature, in a matter that is vital to them.

“Yesterday I met Charskaya. God, how pathetic. She gave me two manuscripts - also poor. It's interesting that she writes poorly. For example<имер>: He puts a comma in front of everything, even if it was the phrase: “No matter what.” Or was she just that hungry? They still don't give her rations. This is a disgrace. Khariton receives, but she, the author of 160 novels, was not awarded. But she mutters nonsense, and apparently doesn’t understand at all where she got such fame from.”

Korney Chukovsky participated in the fate of many writers. But it was difficult to imagine that he was fussing about Lydia Charskaya, against whom one of his most angry and sharp critical articles was directed.

At that time, Chukovsky often met with the young American philologist Keene, a representative of ARA (Association for Famine Relief) in Russia.

“X is remarkably self-centered.<…>Keeney asked me, together with her and Zamyatin, to compile a list of Russian writers in need. I visited her three days ago: she was in bed. I thought and thought, and couldn’t name a single person! Zamyatin too - he promised to think about it. I have also noticed this quality in other talented person- Dobuzhinsky. He is kind, ready to take care of others, but in 1921<оду>, faced every day with hundreds of hungry people, when it came to making their lists, he strained his mind in every possible way and could not do anything.

Here is the list for Kini, which I compiled: Victor Muizhel, Olga Forsh, Fyodor Sologub, Yu. Verkhovsky, V. Sorgenfrey, Nick. S. Tikhonov, M.V. Watson, Ivanov-Razumnik, Lydia Charskaya, Gornfeld, Rima Nikolaevna Andreeva (sister of Leonid Andreev) and Akhmatova."

Including Lydia Charskaya - along with Akhmatova and Sologub - in his list, Chukovsky, of course, thought least of all about her place in literature. But he did not forget that she was a hard worker and that now she was in poverty. Therefore, it is not surprising that she was on his list. It is more unexpected to learn that Charskaya wrote a letter to Korney Chukovsky, full of genuine gratitude, for the mere combination of names - Charskaya and Chukovsky, seemed to forever exclude the very possibility of such a message. But in Chukovsky’s archive her letter was discovered with a note in the owner’s hand: “Received from Lydia Charskaya on February 3.”

Let me remind you that after 1918, Charskaya’s works were no longer published, but she continued to play on the stage of the former Alexandrinsky Theater, where she served continuously since 1898.

And K. Chukovsky in these years - if we bear in mind his activities only in the field of children's literature - devotes a lot of effort to new literature for children, which is built largely on the negation of the principles of the previous, pre-revolutionary literature. He is, in fact, its founder: he gives reviews and articles about children’s books, gives Lev Klyachko, the owner of the emerging publishing house “Raduga”, the idea of ​​publishing books for little ones (and the now famous books for children will be published for the first time in “Rainbow”), and provides friendly support to beginners in children’s literature. Marshak and B. Zhitkov, writes his best fairy tales (“Cockroach”, 1921, “Moidodyr”, 1921, “Fly-Tsokotukha”, 1923, and others).

However, let's return to L. Charskaya's letter. Here it is:

Dear Korney Ivanovich.

There are not enough words with which I could express my sincere heartfelt gratitude to you for what you did for me in this terrible year of my unfair layoff from the theater and during my illness.

Two days t<ому>n<азад>I only found out that I received firewood from A<мериканс>Which Section and receiving assistance (monthly) at KUBU I owe to you.

Thank you, dear, for everything. There are no words. Thank you for coming to my aid at such an exceptionally difficult moment in my life. And so delicately, so sensitively! I received 2 soot<ени>and a chervonets in money. (Choice: or 3 soot<ени>. I took the first one.) I think I can tell you this. Cuba received 110 billion this month. (For January.)

You have children, and for the good that you do to others, they should be happy and will be, if there is justice on earth.

Believe it or not, for this entire year since the day I was laid off, Yu<рьевы>m from the troupe and transfer to “seasonal” until May, I felt for the first time, after learning about your efforts, that the world is not so bad, since such people live on earth bright people, like you and others like you.

Once again thank you so much for everything.

Sincerely devoted to you
Lydia Charskaya".

“I think that I can tell you this”, “... for the first time I felt, after learning about your efforts, that the light is not so bad...” - these are certainly not just polite phrases, and they take on a special meaning when you remember the relationships in Chukovsky’s literature and Charskaya.

In this episode, which at first glance seems private and everyday, much is visible. He is living evidence of what the original literary criticism, what a true critic is and what were the real relationships of writers, even those who deeply disagreed with each other in their understanding of art.

V. I. Glotser

Notes

Maslovskaya Z. Our children and our teachers in the works of Charskaya. - Russian School, 1911, No. 9, p. 123.

Frydenberg V. Why do children love and adore Charskaya? - News of children's literature, 1912, No. 6, February 15, p. 5.

Speech, 1912, No. 247 (2201), September 9 (22). I quote from the publication: Korney Chukovsky. From two to five (6th ed. L., 1936), in which the article “Lydia Charskaya” is reproduced with minor stylistic corrections by the author.

See the already cited article by Marian Glovsky.

The article about Charskaya was one of the critic’s well-thought-out works. Already in the 60s, at the end of his life, reflecting on the principles of his critical activity, Korney Chukovsky wrote: “My second rule (the first was that he “only then ... considered himself to have the right to write about any book” when he “created his own fresh opinion about it, which did not coincide with the generally accepted opinion.” - V.G.) never write a scandal. The critic is obliged to study his material thoroughly. To write a short article about the prolific fiction writer Lydia Charskaya, I read all 64 of her books” (K. Chukovsky Archive).

Rusakov Victor [S. F. Librovich]. Why do children love Charskaya? St. Petersburg; M., Publishing House M. O. Wolf, 1913, p. 38, and also p. 6, 32.

There, p. 32-33.

Marshak S. About inheritance and heredity in children's literature. — In the book: Marshak S. Education with words. M., 1961, p. 290.

Panova Vera. Notes from a writer. L., 1972, p. 150.

Borisov Leonid. Parents, mentors, poets... A book in my life. 2nd ed. M., 1969, p. 82.

After the article “Charskaya’s Letter to Chukovsky” was written and proposed to the editors, the memoirs of K. Chukovsky’s daughter-in-law, Marina Chukovskaya, were published, in which there is the following phrase: “Korney Ivanovich’s efforts for the writer Lydia Charskaya are known” (“In Life and in Work” . - In the book: Memories of Korney Chukovsky / Compiled by K. I. Lozovskaya, Z. S. Paperny, E. Ts. Chukovskaya, 1977, p. Perhaps Charskaya herself spoke widely about this? Or Korney Chukovsky? Or has someone already written about this before me? Neither one, nor the other, nor the third. Obviously, the word “known” should be understood this way: the memoirist at one time heard, knew about the efforts of Korney Ivanovich from family sources, or became acquainted with the Diary of K. Chukovsky after his death.

She was rightfully considered the “mistress of the hearts” of young readers in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. This gifted and extraordinarily prolific writer has written dozens of works for children and teenagers. The amount of Charskaya’s writing can only be compared with the scale of her enormous, truly unprecedented popularity. People continued to read Charskaya even after her works were declared “sweet” and harmful to the reader, and then banned and removed from libraries. However, the writer’s most beloved stories were copied by readers for a long time and passed from hand to hand.

Now we have the opportunity to re-acquaint ourselves with her work. Now Charskaya’s books are being actively republished, many stories are included in the series - “The Treasured Shelf”, “The Road to Happiness”, “Books for All Seasons”. However, the names of some books were changed so that “Notes of a College Girl” was published under the title “Pavlovsk Recluses.”

When in a cheerful sequence

Flashing in my thoughts

Happy years, cheerful swarm,

I'm sure I'm alive again

I forget the troubles of life

And again I resign myself to my fate...

I remember the days of study,

Hot friendship and passion,

The pranks of my dear school years,

Hopes of strength are young

And bright, living dreams,

And the dawn of pure youth...

Lydia Charskaya

Charskaya L.A. Notes of an institute: A story for youth/artists. A.I. Sudarushkin. - 3rd ed. - Saint Petersburg; Moscow: T-vo M.O. Wolf, 1908. - 286 pp.: ill.

Lydia Charskaya is stormy, excessive in everything, passionate, but invariably sincere. Noble. Kind. Kindness is the most important thing. The story “Notes of an Institute Girl,” included in the book, is dedicated to the life of students of the Pavlovsk Institute for Noble Maidens. With compassion and love, she reveals the reserved world of experiences, thoughts and ideals of institute hermits. “Notes of a College Girl” is a touching story about the friendship of two girls who came from the provinces to the capital’s institute. Thanks to her books, not only the history of the institute became known, but also the secret lives of its students. On behalf of one of the girls, Lyuda Vlassovskaya, the daughter of a Russian officer who died in the war, the writer spoke about what she herself experienced.

Taking your time, turning over the first pages of the story, you can unexpectedly find yourself in the time about which the book tells. Here is little Lyudochka Vlassovskaya, with tears in her eyes, saying goodbye to the most dear people. She will study in St. Petersburg, at a boarding house for noble maidens. Here Luda meets the girls from her class and teachers. At first, she finds solace in long, secret conversations about home with her new girlfriend. She turned out to be the Georgian princess Nina Javakha, who also missed her native land. The story tells about different adventures college girls, their joys and sorrows, their pranks and pranks. But the main place in the story is occupied by a young Caucasian princess, not an ordinary girl, capable of science, honest, courageous, truthful, not quickly getting along with her friends, but ready to make all sorts of sacrifices for her favorites.

Young readers liked “Notes of a College Girl” so much that in their letters they began to ask Mrs. Charskaya to describe further adventures of the heroines mentioned in the story. And the writer, fulfilling this request, consistently released a whole series of stories (“Princess Javakha”, “Luda Vlasovskaya”, “Second Nina”), in which full picture the lives of college girls over several years. Thanks to her books, not only the history of the institute became known, but also the secret lives of its students.

How popular these books were among readers at the beginning of the last century can be judged at least by these reviews. “This story is one of the best pictures, vividly and warmly depicting several years of institute life... Institutional life with its vicissitudes, joys and sorrows is both familiar and dear to the author. Reading the story takes you into a unique little world and involuntarily captivates the young reader.” This was the review given by the Journal of the Ministry of Public Education about “Notes of a College Girl.” And another magazine, “Pedagogical Collection,” notes: “The story in “Notes of an Institute Girl” is vivid, and the book is read with interest. Interest in to a large extent supported by the personality of the young Caucasian princess.” To the above reviews we should also add the words of the reviewer of Birzhevye Vedomosti: “The life of the institute, its types, the joys and sorrows of the students, the first sorrows and the first manifestations of beautiful friendship are outlined by the author with knowledge of the matter, observation and sympathetic gentleness.”

Among the young ladies who were engrossed by Charskaya, there was, for example, Marina Tsvetaeva; in the “Evening Album” there is even a poem dedicated to Nina Javakha.

...Ah, the olive branch does not grow
Far from the slope where it bloomed!
And then in the spring the cage opened,
Two wings flew into the sky.
...The heart that fought fell silent...
Around the lamp, the image...
And the guttural voice was beautiful!
And the eyes were fiery!..

M. Tsvetaeva. "In memory of Nina Javakhi"

It is difficult to say whether young Marina Tsvetaeva believed in the real existence of Princess Javakha. But thousands of her peers believed unconditionally. People came and came from afar to visit Nina’s grave at the Novodevichy Convent, not realizing that such a grave did not exist, that it was only a figment of the writer’s imagination...

However, despite the incredible popularity of Charskaya’s books among children and youth, many were skeptical of the writer’s work: she was criticized for the monotony of plots, language cliches, and excessive sentimentality. During her life, and even after her death, Charskaya was repeatedly subjected to devastating criticism. Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky made a sharp assessment of her work in 1912. In the newspaper “Rech” he published a caustic article about the writer’s work, where he ironized over the “illiterate” language of her books, and over primitive plots, and overly exalted characters who often faint, horrified by some events: “ I saw that Charskaya’s hysterics were daily, regular, “from three to seven and a half.” Not hysteria, but rather gymnastics. She has become so skilled at these fainting spells, writhings, and convulsions that she makes them in whole batches (as if she were stuffing cigarettes); convulsions are her craft, tears are her constant profession, and she carefully fabricates the same “horror” dozens and hundreds of times...” Chukovsky, summing up, called her a “genius of vulgarity.” He, without hiding, was angry that “the whole of young Russia bows down to Charskaya.”

But the success of the author of “Princess Javakha” among readers was an unprecedented phenomenon. She is not only read, she is loved. “As an adult, I read a witty and poisonous article about her by K. Chukovsky. It seems difficult to object to anything to Korney Ivanovich... the reproaches are fair. And yet, two and two are not always four. There is, apparently, in Charskaya, in her enthusiastic young heroines, something - bright, noble, pure - that fosters the highest concepts of friendship, loyalty and honor... In 1941, not only Pavel Korchagin brought me to the military registration and enlistment office, but and Princess Javakha,” wrote Yulia Drunina.

Nowadays, the writer’s works are again gaining popularity and becoming reference books for modern teenagers. Heartfelt, romantic stories teach kindness, forgiveness, mutual assistance, patience, and unobtrusively instill in the child’s soul the concepts of dignity, honor, and love for family.The main theme of Lydia Charskaya's works is growing up and overcoming the vices of a child's soul. And yet, the institute of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is the most favorite topic of Charskaya, who, apparently, remained an institute to the end. Yes, indeed, many college girls were enthusiastic, naive, inexperienced, and the closed nature of the educational institution contributed to this. But from childhood, accustomed to discipline, they were well brought up and educated. Graduates of the institutes for noble maidens knew languages ​​- German, French or English, played music, had a fairly good knowledge of medicine, and could serve as a standard in any society good manners and education. Many of them went first world war to the front as sisters of mercy. Over time, it became clear that the graduates of these educational institutions clearly belonged to a completely different “breed” and were so different from their peers that they could easily be spotted in a crowd. The same institute “breed” that was discernible in Lydia Charskaya.

Lidia Alekseevna Voronova was born into a noble family in Tsarskoe Selo on January 19, 1875. Her father, Alexey Alexandrovich Voronov, was a military engineer. The Voronov family lived in prosperity, the parents loved their daughter, but the mother suddenly dies. In some sources, L. Charskaya indicates that the mother died during childbirth and the girl did not know her. But this is not important, what is much more important is that the girl transferred all her love to her father - her idol, whom she affectionately called “sunshine”. This may have helped them both cope with the difficult loss. The two of them spent wonderful evenings. And it seemed to Lida that it would always be like this.

The girl spent her days having fun. She swam beautifully, steered a boat, loved to ride a pony, played a lot of pranks and led her friends, and was, if not a spoiled, then a headstrong child. She was very impressionable, frank and open-minded. The love of her father and numerous aunts, who doted on her, compensated to some extent for the absence of her mother. Having already matured, she would write that the condescending attitude of the governesses, the pity of her four aunts and the kindness of her father greatly spoiled her.

The father married a second time, a strange woman entered the Voronovs’ house. The girl’s relationship with her stepmother did not work out; Lida even ran away from home several times. “Lida lost her head,” Charskaya would later write in one of her autobiographical stories. - The little princess fell from the sky to the ground. They gave her a stepmother! She closed herself off and imagined herself to be a victim of her stepmother, exactly the kind they talk about in fairy tales. Then it was decided to take her to the Pavlovsk Women’s Institute. For a living, impressionable child, life according to strict, once and for all established rules seemed like a barracks. Severe discipline, constant cramming, meager food, rough clothing - everything at first repulsed and outraged her. But over time, the attitude changed, the institute became a second family for the girl. Lydia spent seven years (1886-1893) at the Pavlovsk Women's Institute; impressions of institute life became material for her future books. After the final exams, the best students in Winter Palace received medals from the hands of the empress, under whose care were all the institutes for noble maidens in the capital.

In 1893, among the best graduates of the Pavlovsk Institute in the Winter Palace was Lydia Voronova, the future Lydia Charskaya. Her bright appearance, impulsiveness, and temperament made her noticeable on the course. The brilliant officer Boris Churilov was bewitched by her. He proposed to Lydia, and the girl agreed to become his wife. So eighteen-year-old Voronova became Churilova. But the marriage was short-lived, almost fleeting. The officer left for his duty station in Siberia, and the young woman was left in St. Petersburg alone with a tiny child in her arms. There was a catastrophic lack of money. She enters the Drama Courses at the Imperial Theater School. More on entrance exams The teachers noticed this girl, which helped her pass the competition without any patronage.

After completing the courses in 1898, she was accepted for the only vacant position. women's place to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater, where she worked under the pseudonym Lydia Charskaya. Her theatrical life It didn’t turn out brilliantly; she became famous for something completely different. Charskaya was passionate about writing. The impetus for literary creativity was the lack of funds. After all, her son was growing up, and there was nowhere to wait for help. Literary studies, to Lidia Alekseevna’s surprise, turned out to be easy and enjoyable. And she gave herself entirely to him, although she continued to work in the theater. Charskaya discovered that she could write easily and freely. She once admitted: “I’m literally burning and burning, feverishly scribbling one page after another.”

The first story, “Notes of a College Girl,” was written in 1901. It is based on notes from the institute's diaries. At that time, a weekly magazine “Soulful Word” was published in St. Petersburg for children of younger and middle age. An unknown, but bright, sincere and entertaining writer, she became the leading writer of this magazine. “Notes...” brought Charskaya extraordinary success: she truly became the “ruler of the thoughts” of Russian children, especially schoolgirls. The magazine “Russian School” in its ninth issue for 1911 reported: “In eight girls’ gymnasiums (grades I, II and IV), in the essay assigned by the teacher on the topic “Favorite Book,” the girls almost unanimously indicated the works of Charskaya. In a questionnaire taken in one children’s library, when asked what they didn’t like about the library, the answer received was: “There are no books by Charskaya.”

What did she write about? About kindness, love for one's neighbor, compassion, selflessness, responsiveness. Her heroes are people of different classes. These are nobles who educate their children in privileged educational institutions; and employees living on remuneration for their labor; and beggars who dream of a piece of bread. But they are all united by selflessness, a sincere impulse to respond to the pain of others and faith in a bright beginning in the world. The heroes of Charskaya's books usually suffer a lot and are lonely; they are in danger. But they are honest and fair, patient and kind, and under no circumstances can they be forced to commit a bad act. Another very important quality for Charskaya is the ability to endure injustice and the unshakable belief that sooner or later evil forces will be defeated and good will win. Charskaya was constantly reproached for happy endings, but the joyful final pages of the book were certainly deserved in the eyes of the young reader.

After 1917, the fate of Lydia Alekseevna Charskaya changed dramatically. Noble origins, “bourgeois-philistine views” - everything spoke not in favor of the writer. In 1918, the magazine “Sincere Word” closed, and last story Lydia Charskaya, "The Moth", remained unfinished. In 1920, the “Instruction of the Political and Educational Department of the People's Commissariat for Education on the revision and removal of outdated literature from public libraries” was published. According to this instruction, it was proposed to remove from circulation books praising the monarchy, the Church, inspiring religious ideas, not satisfying ideological and pedagogical requirements, and sentimental and emotional in nature. The list of books proposed for confiscation was huge, and Charskaya’s works were also included here. Teachers did not recommend, or even forbid, schoolchildren from reading her books, and “trial” ceremonies were held in the classrooms for Charskaya. The author of “Princess Javakhi” became more and more defined by the definitions of “boulevard, bourgeois, vulgar-sentimental.

There are only a few pieces of evidence left about the post-revolutionary years of Charskaya’s life. She continued to receive letters from children expressing delight and love, with requests to get the continuation of their favorite book at least for a few days. Girls from a nearby school secretly brought her food and even quietly left money under the tablecloth of the dinner table. Charskaya gave children her works to read - but not books, but manuscripts. There were no books left in the apartment, including my own. Lidia Alekseevna lived in a tiny apartment at the back door, the door from the stairs opened directly into the kitchen. She was very poor. There was nothing in the apartment, the walls were empty. She was very thin, her face was gray. Dressed in the old style: long dress and a long gray coat that served her in winter, spring, and autumn. She looked unusual, people looked at her. A person from another world - that’s how she was perceived. She was religious and went to church. And she didn’t whimper, despite the desperate situation. Occasionally she managed to earn extra money - in the theater as an extra, when such a type was required...

But the trials didn't end there. She felt the true collapse and meaninglessness of life when the news arrived about the death of her son Yuri, who fought in the Red Army. A lonely, already middle-aged woman, abandoned by everyone, having no relatives by that time, she left the theater in 1924. A literally miserable life began. And now the once merciless Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky was trying to get financial help for the forgotten writer. She was not imprisoned or exiled, but for almost twenty years before her death she lived in an atmosphere of prohibitions and obvious and hidden hostility. Once upon a time, still at the peak of success, Lidia Alekseevna remarked: “If they took away the opportunity to write from me, I would stop living.” There was no longer a favorite thing to do. Life has stopped. Lydia Charskaya died in 1937 in Leningrad and was buried at the Smolensk cemetery. In total, Charskaya wrote more than 80 books during her life.

A witch, a sorceress, a fairy... What else can you call the one who, at the beginning of the twentieth century, was able to charm to reach millions of readers?..
For several decades, Charskaya’s name was shrouded in a halo of, if not nationwide, then all children’s adoration. They loved her, they worshiped her, they turned to her as an oracle and seer.
Who was this ruler of thoughts? Is she really a sorceress? To some extent, yes - there are a lot of strange and mysterious things associated with the name of the writer and her books.
They - either fairies or witches - come to us from nowhere and go to nowhere. Here is Charskaya. It would seem that only a century separates her from us - God knows how long, but the facts of her biography have not yet been established precisely. Start at least with the date and place of birth. There is, however, a document where it is written in black and white that the bearer "born January 19, 1875." However, Charskaya herself claimed that she was born "in the city of former Petrograd, now Leningrad, in 1879".
But maybe all these documents exist only as a diversion? And in fact, some fairy-tale sorceress simply decided to play pranks, taking on the image of the girl Lida Voronova, who lived in the town of Shlisselburg, where her father served, and who was so different from her peers?..
Lida was very tormented by her dissimilarity: “Why am I experiencing everything more acutely and painfully than others? Why don’t others have such strange dreams as I have?.. Why do others live without knowing the terrible emotions that I experience?”
These worries were not the fruit of a morbid childhood imagination. Lida lost her mother early, she loved her father passionately, almost fanatically, and for a long time could not come to terms with his second marriage and the arrival of her hated stepmother. She even ran away from home several times. It ended with Lida being taken to St. Petersburg and assigned to the Pavlovsk Institute.
To the lively, freedom-loving girl, the institute seemed almost like a prison. Severe discipline, constant cramming, meager food, rough clothing - everything at first repulsed and outraged her. But over time, the attitude changed. Lidia Alekseevna later admitted that her years of study gave her a lot. She became calmer, more tolerant, more restrained, and became interested in reading and even writing.
Six years later, the Institute for Noble Maidens was successfully completed. And soon the young graduate Lydia Voronova married officer Boris Churilov.
The marriage turned out to be short-lived, almost fleeting. Despite the birth of their son, the couple separated. Lidia Alekseevna did not want to return to her parents’ shelter. And not at all because of the stepmother. By that time, the “irreconcilable enemies” had not only reconciled, but passionately loved each other. While still studying at the Pavlovsk Institute, Lida fell ill with smallpox, and if not for the selfless care of her stepmother, who left her husband and small children to care for her stepdaughter, the girl would not have survived. After such an incident, there could be no talk of enmity. And yet in home Lidia Alekseevna did not return; she was attracted by an independent life.
Undoubted artistic abilities, rare charm and bright temperament allowed the young woman to compete in the Drama Courses at the Imperial Theater School. And after graduation, she entered the Alexandrinsky Theater, where she served for more than a quarter of a century - from 1898 to 1924.
But the minor and episodic roles in which Charskaya worked (this is her stage name), did not bring mental satisfaction and material well-being. Then she tried her hand at writing, since she always had a penchant for it. And she discovered that she wrote easily and freely. Once she even admitted: “I’m literally on fire and burning, feverishly scribbling one page after another.”.
“Sincere Word” (that was the name of two magazines of the M.O. Wolf partnership - for younger and older ages) began to publish with pleasure an unknown, but such a bright, sincere and entertaining writer. Her first story, “Notes of a College Girl” (1901), brought her fame. This was followed by “Princess Javakha”, “Luda Vlassovskaya”, “Second Nina”, “For what? My story about myself”... And finally, books poured out in a truly overwhelming stream. These were stories and tales, poems and plays, fairy tales for children and novels for adults. In just under twenty years, Charskaya wrote about eighty books.
They seemed to appear without the slightest effort, as if with the wave of a hand, and instantly scattered throughout Russia, sometimes even crossing its borders and appearing in the Czech Republic, then in Germany, then in England, then in France. And everywhere readers, especially young readers, repeated the name of their literary idol with bated breath and trepidation. It was no longer recognition, not even success, it was clean water witchcraft. Really, such a stir cannot be explained by anything else - well, not by the artistic merits of Charskaya’s works!
In fairness, we have to admit: to the level great literature There was no way Lydia Alekseevna could get up. Sentimentality, exaltation, even hysteria of her books, endlessly repeated techniques and images, sloppy style, primitive language - all this and much more allowed the then young critic K.I. Chukovsky to name the adored and idolized writer "genius of vulgarity" And "horror factory". His article “Lydia Charskaya” was published in 1912. Literally every word in this brilliant article stank. But not Charskaya. The blows did not seem to reach their target and did not bother the sorceress at all. As soon as she raised her witch's pipe to her lips, reader's souls They followed her resignedly and enchanted.
The end to all this obsession was put in 1917, when all magicians and wizards were abolished by directive. Charskaya was no longer published (four little things for children published under the pseudonym “N. Ivanova” do not count), and all previous editions of her books were removed from libraries and destroyed.
Once upon a time, still at the peak of success, Lidia Alekseevna remarked: “If they took away my opportunity to write, I would stop living”. However, she lived for a long time, about twenty years - difficult and sad years. Loneliness and poverty befell the no longer young woman. Son Yuri died in civilian life, fighting in the ranks of the Red Army. There are no other relatives left. Readers and admirers are scattered around the world. And now the once merciless K.I. Chukovsky was trying to get financial help for the forgotten writer.
She left unnoticed, as all sorceresses leave, leaving us with one last sad riddle. Lydia Alekseevna's grave is located in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk cemetery. But some eyewitnesses claim that they saw in the village of Chkalovsky, Krasnodar Territory, an old tombstone with a half-erased inscription, in which one can supposedly guess the name of Charskaya.

Irina Kazyulkina

WORKS OF L.A. CHARSKAYA

COMPLETE WORKS: [In 32 volumes]. - M.: Parish of the Church of the Holy Spirit of the Descent, 2006-2007.
Until recently, Lydia Charskaya’s books were considered a bibliographic rarity. However, now many publishers are reprinting them with such zeal that it has come - neither more nor less - to the “Complete Works”.
Unfortunately, this publication raises a number of questions, the answers to which are quite difficult to find.
Firstly, how did they manage to squeeze 80 (according to some sources) or 160 (according to others) novels and stories into 32 relatively small volumes? If this failed, why on earth is the meeting proudly called “complete”?
Secondly, all academic publications require serious scientific approach: detailed comments, extensive reference and bibliographic apparatus. Why don’t we find anything like this in any of the thirty-two volumes?
And, finally, thirdly, is the desire of publishers to return half-forgotten archaic books of dubious literary merit to the reading circles of children and adolescents of the 21st century, and in such frightening quantities?
It remains to add that the “Complete Works” of Lydia Charskaya as a whole quite “completely” reflects her work. Here are the famous “institute” stories, historical works and fairy tales.

NOTES OF A LITTLE GYMNASIUM STUDENT: A Tale for Children. - M.: Chronograph, 2004. - 222 p.: ill. - (Children's Orthodox reading).
Gymnasium, institute - favorite place the actions of many of Charskaya’s works. And no wonder. She, like no one else, knew, remembered and was able to portray the life and customs of these educational institutions. But will the story of the heroine of the old “school story” be close and understandable to modern Russian schoolgirls?

ROMANTIC STORIES FOR GIRLS. - M.: EKSMO, 2005. - 512 p.: ill. - (Det. b-ka).
This collection contains almost everything that was so dear to Lydia Charskaya’s heart: favorite heroines, strong feelings, fatal encounters, dangerous adventures. And most importantly, there is Charskaya herself, her childhood experiences, dreams and fears, which she generously shared with the characters and readers.

SIBIROCHKA: Story / Artist. E. Popkova. - M.: Astrel: AST, 2001. - 190 p.: ill. - (Girls' favorite books).
Are there too many dangerous encounters for a defenseless baby? And wolves, and bears, and robbers. It’s enough to keep you glued to the book until the very end.

TALES OF THE BLUE FAIRY / Preface. R. Sefa; Artist L. Nasyrov. - M.: Center universal human values, 1994. - 222 p.: ill.
Oddly enough, Lydia Charskaya’s fairy tales are much more realistic than all her “realistic” books. Their breathing is ragged. Beauty is sad. They seem to give off a chill, just as they do from one of the fairy-tale heroines Charskaya - Princess Ice...

> - The saga of Princess Javakha and Lyuda Vlassovskaya -

“I see distant images,- wrote L.A. Charskaya, - I see bright and dark sides life. Two slender images of girls are outlined: one - meek, gentle, sad - of an institute friend, and the other - freedom-loving, proud and free - of a Caucasian princess.". This is how, in fact, two of the writer’s favorite heroines were born - Lyuda Vlassovskaya and Nina Dzhavakha. And then a whole series of books about their destinies. How popular those books were among female readers at the beginning of the last century can be judged at least by these poetic lines:

M. Tsvetaeva. "In memory of Nina Javakhi"

It is difficult to say whether young Marina Tsvetaeva believed in the real existence of Princess Javakha. But thousands of her peers believed unconditionally. People came and came from afar to visit Nina’s grave at the Novodevichy Convent, not realizing that such a grave did not exist, that it was only a figment of the writer’s imagination...

SECOND NINA. - M.: Zakharov, 2002. - 169 p.: ill. - (Books of little princesses).

NOTES OF AN INSTITUTE / Afterword. S. Kovalenko. - M.: Republic, 1993. - 383 p.: ill.

PRINCESS OF JAVAKHA: A Tale. - M.: Zakharov, 2002. - 175 p.: ill. - (Books of little princesses).

STORIES / Intro. Art. E. Putilova. - L.: Det. lit., 1991. - 319 pp.: ill.

UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE OLD GARDEN; NOTES OF AN INSTITUTE. - M.: Father's house, 2002. - 150 pp.: ill. - (Orthodox children's library).

RIVALS / Artist. N. Ishtrikova. - M.: Astrel: AST, 2006. - 204 p.: ill.

- Historical stories -

About the stories of L. Charskaya, and above all - historical ones, the sarcastic K. Chukovsky wrote this: “Charskaya is especially inaccessible in the vulgarity of the patriotic barracks”. Half a century later, another writer (B. Vasiliev) expressed the opposite opinion, saying that her stories “not only stated popularly native history, but also taught to admire her. And admiration for the history of one’s native country is an emotional expression of love for it.”.

GAZAVAT: Thirty years of the mountaineers’ struggle for freedom: East. story. - M.: Republic, 1994. - 301 p.: ill.

FORMID MATCH: East. story [about Ermak's campaign]. - M.: Sovremennik, 1994. - 267 p.: ill. - (History of Russia in novels for children).

ONE FOR ALL: The story of the life of the great ascetic of the Russian Land [Sergius of Radonezh]. - M.: MP " doll house": TPO "Svetoch", 1992. - 111 p.: ill. - (To the 600th anniversary of the death St. Sergius Radonezhsky).

THE QUESTION'S PAGE: Novels. - M.: Sovremennik, 1994. - 413 p.: ill. - (History of Russia in novels for children).
Contents: The Desired Tsar: [About Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich]; Page of the Crown Princess: [About Empress Elizabeth Petrovna].

A BRAVE LIFE: The exploits of a mysterious hero: East. story [about Nadezhda Durova]. - M.: Astrel: AST, 2005. - 300 pp.: ill.

Irina Kazyulkina

LITERATURE ABOUT THE LIFE AND WORK OF L.A.CHARSKAYA

Arzamastseva I., Kuznetsova N. Charskaya Lydia Alekseevna // Kuznetsova N. and others. Children's writers. - M.: Ballas - S-Info, 1995. - P. 154-155.
Eremina E. [Afterword] // Charskaya L. Three tears of the queen. - M.: Family and school, 1993. - P. 65.
Ismagulova T. Real and mythological biography of Lydia Charskaya // Children's collection: Articles on children's literature and anthropology of childhood. - M.: OGI, 2003. - P. 201-210.
Kovalenko S. The phenomenon of Lydia Charskaya // Charskaya L. Notes of an institute. - M.: Republic, 1993. - P. 372-379.
Nevinskaya I. Charskaya (pseudonym, real surname - Churilova) Lidiya Alekseevna // Russian children's writers of the 20th century. - M.: Flinta: Science, 1997. - P. 481-484.
Nikonenko S. Magic fairy tales of Lydia Charskaya // Charskaya L. Magic fairy tale. - M.: Press, 1994. - P. 5-10.
Panteleev L. How I became a children's writer // Panteleev L. Collection. cit.: In 4 vols. - L.: Det. lit., 1983-1985. - T. 3. - P. 316.
Prikhodko V. The magic of Charskaya // Preschool education. - 2000. - No. 12. - P. 76-83.
Prikhodko V. “Ride, my horse, at full speed...” // Charskaya L. Brave Life. - M.: Det. lit., 1991. - pp. 5-10.
Putilova E. Lydia Charskaya and her books // Charskaya L. Stories. - L.: Det. lit., 1991. - pp. 5-18.
Putilova E. About forgotten names, or About the phenomenon of L. Charskaya // About literature for children: Vol. 32. - L.: Det. lit., 1982. - pp. 73-88.
Strelkova I. The Mystery of Lydia Charskaya // Charskaya L. Sibirochka; Notes of a little schoolgirl. - M.: Det. lit., 2006. - pp. 5-10.
Chukovsky K. Lydia Charskaya // Chukovsky K. Works: In 2 volumes - M.: Pravda, 1990. - T. 1. - P. 430-440.

I.K.

SCREEN ADAPTATIONS OF L.A. CHARSKAYA'S WORKS

Sibirochka. TV series. Dir. V.Grammatikov. Russia, 2005. Cast: A. Yuganova, A. Buldakov, I. Yasulovich and others.

(real name - Voronova, married name - Churilova)

(1878-1937) Russian writer and actress

Lydia spent her childhood in the family of a military engineer, a colonel. Her mother died during childbirth, so the motif of orphanhood can be heard in many of her works. The girl adored her father and hated her stepmother, she even ran away from home and because of this she often got sick.

One day, an unknown woman in white nursed her for many days. The girl became very attached to her, and it was only by chance that it turned out that this woman was an unloved stepmother, who since then has become the closest person to Lydia. In 1886, the girl was sent to the Pavlovsk Women's Institute, located in St. Petersburg. All these events were later reflected in her stories.

After graduating from the institute in 1893, Lydia Charskaya did not return to her home and at the age of eighteen married officer B. Churilov. Living together The relationship between the spouses does not last long: they soon separate, and Lydia is left alone with her son.

She enrolls in theater and drama courses. In 1898 she manages to pass the competition and enter the Alexandria Theater, where she worked until 1924. Then Lydia came up with the idea stage name- Charskaya, she later began signing her books with the same name.

The actress’s theatrical biography did not develop the way she wanted: she dreamed of the roles of romantic heroines, such as Katerina from “The Thunderstorm” by A. Ostrovsky, Louise Miller from “The Robbers” by F. Schiller. And she had to play the typical roles of soubrette or old woman.

Lydia Charskaya's first story, “Notes of a College Girl,” appeared in special magazine for girls “Spiritual Word” in 1901. Until the closure of the magazine in 1918, it published works by the writer almost every year.

For her work, Lidia Alekseevna Charskaya received meager fees and was forced to write a lot - one work after another, which undoubtedly affected the quality. In her books there are repetitions, sloppiness of language, a certain schematism storylines, there are often commonplaces.

Although Lydia Charskaya's first work was written on the basis of her own impressions and was not distinguished by any particular depth of character development, it attracted attention for the theme that she introduced into literature. Before her, no one had spoken in such detail and vividly about the stuffy atmosphere of closed, privileged women's educational institutions in Russia.

The first series of works dedicated to the life of little hermits was created on the basis of personal impressions: “For what?” (1909), "Big John" (1910), "For Life" (1911), "Goal Accomplished" (1911). Charskaya recreated the delicate inner world a little girl, where dreams and fears are organic components of her worldview. Charskaya's works combine two traditions - the vivid emotionality characteristic of the sentimentalism of the early 19th century, and the heightened interest in the world of dreams and dreams, introduced into literature by modernist writers. From the latter, in particular from F. Sologub, Lydia Charskaya inherited an interest in the terrible. She often uses motifs from children's horror stories, invariably exposing them at the end of the plot.

Another series of works - “Princess Javakha” (1904), “Luda Vlassovskaya” (1904), “White Capes” (1906), “Lydia’s Youth” (1912) - are also biographical, but the events of the writer’s life serve only as the basis in them. Charskaya constructs a romantic plot, allowing for greater fiction, intricately intertwining event lines with each other. But here, too, the inner world of an older girl is vividly reproduced, and the development of the heroine as a person is shown. Despite the artlessness of the style, Charskaya’s works were an excellent educational tool, which is why they were recommended for the libraries of various educational institutions.

Indeed, the writer built intrigue on the adventures or moral suffering of the heroes. The sentimental-dramatic tone, the uncertainty of the fate of the characters, and the anticipation of a tense outcome attracted the reader's attention, maintaining their interest in the plot until its resolution.

It is no coincidence that fans flocked to the Novodevichy Convent to the grave of Princess Javakha, a character invented by Charskaya. One of them, M. Tsvetaeva, even dedicated a poem to the heroine “Nina Javakhe”.

Perhaps the success of Lydia Alekseevna Charskaya was also explained by the fact that most of her works were written in the first person. In works devoted to the life of college girls, a similar technique helped to present their small world from the inside and, without unnecessary moralizing, show its wretchedness and limitations.

In 1912, K. Chukovsky, who acted mainly as a critic in those years, published a devastating article, dedicated to works Charskaya, assessing her work as a kind of horror factory. However, he could not help but recognize the success of the writer’s books among readers, which were translated into English, German and French in the 1910s.

Some works by Lydia Charskaya are devoted to individual facts of Russian history (“Brave Life”, 1905, about N. Durova; “Gazavat”, 1906). The publication “One for all” is interesting. The Tale of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, the Great Companion of the Russian Land,” which was illustrated with reproductions of paintings by M. Nesterov, K. Bryullov, ancient miniatures, and photographs of antiques.

The form of life developed intensively in Russian literature during the first thirty years of the 20th century (works by B. Zaitsev, B. Pilnyak). Lydia Charskaya creates a vivid story about a man who was one of the first to assert the need to unite in the name of fighting the enemy. At the same time, the writer uses the example of Sergius’ life to express a certain moral concept, which was based on the ideals of goodness and beauty.

The fairy tales of Lidia Alekseevna Charskaya perform a similar task; they are very unusual in their plot construction and are more reminiscent of short novels, where the heroes become fairy creatures, kings, fairies and evil wizards. Ordinary people may turn into powerful rulers, but they languish in golden cages and find happiness only by breaking out of them. Closeness to nature and naturalness of feelings are glorified by Charskaya as the only possible values.

Her literary life lasted only fifteen years, during which time she wrote about eighty books of prose and poetry. Many writers admitted that they went through her school, learning from her the techniques of creating fair, noble and generous heroes.

When the writer lost her job and literary income, readers helped her: they cleaned the rooms and washed the floors. Even K. Chukovsky did not remain indifferent and ensured that she was included in the list of especially needy writers.

Relatives tried their best to support Charskaya. It is curious that Detizdat employees wanted to publish a collection of the writer’s essays with a foreword by F. Sologub. He quickly responded to the proposal and wrote in 1926 one of the first analytical articles about the work of Lydia Charskaya. But the editor of the Zvezda magazine L. Seifullina rejected it, and it remained in the archive.

From 1925 to 1929, Lidia Alekseevna Charskaya published four small books for children under the pseudonym N. Ivanova, but the writer failed to completely change the situation with the publication of her works. The subsequent confiscation of her books from libraries by special order of N. Krupskaya, who determined cultural policy and established a circle of works that could have a harmful influence on the younger generation, led to the fact that by the beginning of the war the name of the writer was practically not known to the reader to whom her books were intended.

In her late twenties, she began to develop tuberculosis. Friends managed to send her to the village on vacation. O. Kapitsa, the unofficial leader of children's literature, took a special part in Charskaya's fate. Next to Lydia Charskaya were her friends: the family of Mikhail Zoshchenko, E. Danko, V. Kalitskaya.

The writer continued to write, probably keeping a diary. Pushkin remained Lydia Charskaya's favorite author. She admitted: “If you take away the opportunity to write, I would stop living, evoking good feelings in young readers, maintaining their interest in the environment, awakening love for goodness and truth, compassion for the poor, the sacred flame of love for the homeland.” Unfortunately, the popularity of Lidia Alekseevna Charskaya turned out to be unnecessary in times of declarative sloganism.

The modern world does not perceive the sentimental nature of the teacher’s works, but future researchers have yet to determine her contribution to national culture, clarify certain facts of her biography.

Relatives buried Charskaya at the Smolensk cemetery, put a cross and a fence on the grave, but only thanks to admirers and researchers of her talent after the Great Patriotic War managed to find the burial and put it in order.