Ch. V. dʼArlincourt: On the «fashionable» writer of the 1820s

This article discusses the extraordinary literary popularity of a rather mediocre French writer — Ch. V. dʼArlincourt (1789—1856). DʼArlincourt was an author of adventure novels. In the 1820s, his writings were bestsellers both in France and in Russia. Pushkin mentions this in his poem “Count Nulin”, comparing his name with the name of the poet Lamartine, whose poems also enjoyed great success at this time. Although dʼArlincourtʼs novels received scathing criticism, they ultimately prevailed over Lamartineʼs poetry in their readership.

How Does Male Readership Impact Character Portrayals in Contemporary Young Adult Adventure Novels?

Adventure fiction has traditionally followed a male protagonist in their search for selfhood and saviorhood. In the case of contemporary adventure fiction, authors are likely to follow the conventions of the adventure story in order to fit the genre’s stereotypes, which in turn reinforce gender stereotypes. This research paper discusses how contemporary young adult adventure novels typically perform within society’s narrowly defined perception of male readership. While the novels attempt to perpetuate powerful female roles, the male characters fit the fantasy of traditional, male adventure stories. After analyzing traditional stories such as Paradise Lost and Beowulf and modern novels such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, I conclude that there are disparities between the portrayal of male and female characters: from the main hero to the minor characters to the antagonists, young adult adventure novels tend to follow traditional tropes in order to satisfy male readers. Even if the authors subvert the patriarchal tropes by adding female heroines or helpful minor characters, the overall work of literature creates a fantasy world that reinforces the traditional roles and desires expected of young boys. In time, these portrayals could encourage male readers to act patronizingly or dismissively toward girls and women.

Genurile romanului românesc (1933-1947). O analiză cantitativă

This article puts forward a quantitative account of the subgenres of the Romanian novel during the 1933-1947 period. It shows the massive domination of the social novel and the Bildungsroman and analyzes the dynamics of genre and popular literature – adventure novels, detective fiction, SF, etc. – within the first period of massive literary production in Romanian literature. The article is the result of the MDRR (Muzeul Digital al Romanului Românesc – The Digital Museum of the Romanian Novel) projects, set out to archive the Romanian production of novels from 1845 (the year of the publication of the – arguably – first Romanian novel) to 1947, right before the establishment of the communist regime. The first part is a quantitative analysis of the novels according to DCRR (Dicționarul cronologic al romanului românesc – The Chronological Dictionary of the Romanian Novel). The second part analyzes the “dynamics of popular subgenres,” meaning adventure novels, policiers, SF novels, and children’s literature. The third part envisions “the social novel” as a predilect genre of the interwar period, the fourth occasions a reading of the “historical novel,” while the last two sections describe the evolution of sentimental and psychological novels.

Inspiration from Translation: The Golden Age of English-Language Children’s Literature and Its Impact on Polish Juvenile Fiction

The article presents a cross-sectional view of the impact of the translations of English-language juvenile literature of the Golden Age on Polish literary production for young readers. This panorama of infl uences and reception modes is presented in three comparative close-ups, dealing with characters and recipients (English ‘girls’ novels’ and their Polish equivalents), literary convention (adventure novels), and fairytale quality, imagination, and fantasy (Polish literary works inspired by English classic fantasy books). The study shows that Golden Age children’s literature transferred into Polish by means of translation brought new trends, motifs, genres and themes to Polish juvenile literature, signifi cantly contributing to its development.

The Hand of Law and the Body of Family. Family, Fear and the Court of Law in Qing China

The article, through the lens of crimes and court cases, explores the complex relationship between the individual, family and state in China in the XVII-XIX centuries. The research is based on archival court cases and fiction literature of traditional China. The author examines crimes committed within the family, analyses the testimony of criminals and witnesses, as well as sentences and government decrees; compares the real transcripts of court hearings with the depiction of family conflicts, investigations and trials in adventure novels and short stories by Chinese writers. As a result, the author comes to a number of conclusions, in particular, that the Qing government gradually shifted the emphasis from the value of filial piety and generational hierarchy to the special importance of marriage relations; while in public mindset, on the contrary, the inertia of Confucianism and the desire to protect the integrity and autonomy of the family body from interference by state power were extremely strong. Speaking about the reaction of the Chinese family to the crime that occurred within its ranks, the author identifies several typical ways of responding, with the choice of method being often determined by the gender of the conflicting parties.

Un Polonais au « Far East » : Asie fantôme. À travers la Sibérie sauvage (1898‑1905) de Ferdynand Ossendowski (1923)

International audience The travelogue by Antoni Ferdynand Ossendowski, Man and Mystery in Asia. Through Wild Siberia (1898‑1905), written in 1923 and translated from English into French in 1925, results from a complex editorial history and still awaits a translation from the Polish original. The aim here is to shed some light on the reasons for its success at its first reception and its rediscovery since 1989 and the rise of censorship in Poland: Why (re)read Man and Mystery in Asia? This book, which goes beyond the scientific writings of the Polish geologist, can be read at least at three additional levels: as the literary narrative of a scientist, it articulates science with economics and ecology; as a text inspired by Anglo‑Saxon or Polish adventure novels, it stands out as an anticolonial western in the Far East; as the text of an author who had escaped a manhunt by Russian and Mongolian revolutionaries in 1920‑1921, a story narrated in Beasts, Men and Gods, he depicts a whole shadow world, where the narrator experiences proximity with death and the dead. Le récit de voyage d’Antoni Ferdynand Ossendowski, Asie fantôme. À travers la Sibérie sauvage (1898‑1905), écrit en 1923 et traduit en français en 1925, via l’anglais, résulte d’une histoire éditoriale complexe et attend encore une traduction d’après l’original polonais. Il s’agit d’éclairer ici les raisons de son succès lors de sa première réception et celles de sa redécouverte depuis 1989 et la levée de la censure en Pologne : pourquoi (re)lire Asie fantôme ? Ce livre qui double les écrits scientifiques du géologue polonais peut faire l’objet d’au moins trois lectures complémentaires : comme récit littéraire d’un scientifique, il articule la science avec l’économie et l’écologie ; comme texte inspiré des romans d’aventures anglo‑saxons ou polonais, il s’impose comme un western anti‑colonial du Far East ; comme texte d’un auteur rescapé d’une chasse à l’homme des révolutionnaires russes et mongols en 1920‑1921, racontée dans Bêtes, hommes et dieux, il déploie tout un monde fantômal, où le narrateur côtoie la mort et les morts.

Pavel Bulygin’s Abyssinian poems in the magazine “Rubezh” (Border) (Harbin, 1935–1936)

The article is devoted to the Abyssinian poems by Pavel Bulygin, a poet and a prose writer who left Russia after the revolution, whose poems were published in Harbin weekly “Rubezh” (Border) (1935–1936). Exotic motives are analysed in the poet's work, for whom, following Nikolay Gumilyov, Africa became a “guiding star”: Bulygin's collection of poems “Alien Stars” is dedicated to Abyssinia – the name of the cycle clearly refers to Gumilyov's “Alien Sky”. Special attention is paid to the May issue of “Rubezh” (1936), where Bulygin’s five poems from the cycle “Alien Stars” were published under the general title “The poems about Abyssinia”. These texts are considered as a microcycle, united thematically – Bulygin's poetic bestiary is described, focused on Gumilyov in many respects; the literary nature of the poet's affection to African travels is noted not only through Gumilyov’s lyrics, but also through James Fenimore Cooper and Jack London’s adventure novels; it is pointed out that the poet uses the technique of “imaginary” ekphrasis, when instead of a really existing picture, his own one is recreated – poetic and as if picturesque at the same time. In addition to the publication in the May issue of “Rubezh” in 1936, there are Bulygin’s works, published in Harbin weekly in 1935 (“Saw Gin” (“Hyena-Man”), “Russian in Abyssinia”, “From a heated red stone...”). Immersion in African topos, warmed for Bulygin by Gumilyov's poetry and travels, helps the emigrant poet escape from loneliness, anguish and nostalgia.

Il viaggio fantastico di de Chirico, Savinio, Landolfi

The intervention addresses three metaphysical and fantastical exemplary works from the twentieth century - Ebdòmero, La partenza dell’Argonauta, Il Mar delle Blatte – in which the theme of travel finds expression through different textual models. In the first case, De Chirico uses the archetypical model of Ulysses’ journey against a background of fantastic metaphysical imagery. In the second Savinio creates a parodistic rewriting of the Argonautiche by Apollonio Rodio – the mythical trip par excellence, while in the third (Il mar delle blatte) Landolfi recalls the characters of Salgari’s adventure novels. All three texts represent imaginary travels towards an unreachable elsewhere, symbolically represented by a paradisiacal Island, lost and dreamt of also by the sailor Pessoa.

The Pivotal Narratological Category in Historical Perspective

The article examines narrative strategies in their historical dynamics. It singles out the so-called narrative worldview and the ethos of narrativity as basic parameters of a narrative strategy. Heroic legends and fairy tales inherited a precedent worldview and the ethos of peace from mythology. The post-mythological development of religious consciousness leads to a narrative strategy of the parable type that implies an imperative world model and prescriptive ethos, as implemented, for example, in the Old Testament. The narrative strategy of the New Testament stands out due to the constructive combination of the precedent worldview and a fundamentally new ethos of personal solidarity. The practice of telling jokes and ancient Greek adventure novels develop a circumstantial world model and the ethos of self-realization. Finally, the classic novel explores the probabilistic worldview and becomes a basis of several new narrative strategies that vary in their ethos.

Educating the Mainland Public

This research focuses on two examples of young adult literature—Young Hunters in Porto Rico; or, the Search for a Lost Treasure, and A Yankee Lad’s Pluck: How Bert Larkin Saved His Father’s Ranch in the Island of Porto Rico—published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and the syndicate’s league of mass-market imitators immediately following the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898. These imperialistic adventure novels coincided with the U.S. implementation of the doctrine of Americanization, or the American colonial mission to instruct Puerto Ricans in self-government and democratic values in anticipation for some uncertain future form of economic and political sovereignty for the island. Edward Stratemeyer built his vast fiction empire, the publishing house for such series as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, upon imperial romances which glorified the events of the Spanish-American War and presented recently-acquired U.S. territories—such as Puerto Rico—as sites of adventure beyond mainland confines to a predominately male, teenage audience. Borrowing from an English literary tradition, these novels energized young, white, American men to act as willing participants in the imperial imagination while simultaneously instilling in them expectations for Puerto Rican behavior and identity.