Suslova, Apollinariya Prokofyevna (1839 or 1840, the village of Panino/Papino, Gorbatov Uyezd, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate — 1918, Simferopol) was a Russian writer and memoirist, a close friend and lover of Fyodor Dostoevsky, and later the wife of the philosopher Vasily Rozanov. She was a native of what is now Sosnovskiy Municipal Okrug in Nizhny Novgorod Region.[1]

Origins and Education

She was born into a peasant family in a village of Gorbatov Uyezd, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate — sources disagree on the spelling of the place name (Panino or Papino) and on the year of her birth (1839 or 1840).[1][2] She received her education in Saint Petersburg, graduating from a boarding school for noble young ladies.[1] It was also in Petersburg that she entered literary circles and met Dostoevsky.

Literary Career

Her stories "Meanwhile" (1861) and "Before the Wedding" (1863), as well as the novella "Her Own Way" (1864), were published in the journal Epokha (Epoch), which was put out by the Dostoevsky brothers.[3] She later wrote the novella "A Stranger and One's Own," in which she described her relationship with Dostoevsky.[5] In 1928, a collection titled Years of Closeness with Dostoevsky was published in Moscow, comprising a diary, a novella, and letters; it was translated into German (1931, Piper, translated by Rosa Simkhovich), English (1972, University of Chicago Press, translated by Victor Terras), and French (1995, Gallimard, translated by Lyubov Yurgenson).[4]

Connection to Dostoevsky's Work

Suslova is considered the prototype of several key female characters in Dostoevsky's novels: above all Polina in The Gambler (her pet name was indeed Polina), as well as Nastasya Filippovna in The Idiot and a number of other characters.[1][5]

Later Years

Around 1900, Suslova moved to Alushta and then to Sevastopol, where in 1911 she headed the local branch of the Union of the Russian People.[1] She died in 1918; according to one source, in Simferopol.[2]

Sources

  1. names52.ru — Suslova, Apollinariya Prokofyevna
  2. biography.wikireading.ru — Chapter Three: Moscow University. Apollinariya Suslova. Rozanov
  3. ru.wikisource.org — Author: Apollinariya Prokofyevna Suslova — Wikisource
  4. literary_types.academic.ru — Suslova, Apollinariya Prokofyevna — what is it? Who was Suslova, Apollinariya Prokofyevna? (literary_types.academic.ru)
  5. labirint.ru — Book: Years of Closeness with Dostoevsky — Apollinariya Suslova. Buy the book, read reviews — Labirint
  6. directmedia.ru — Apollinariya Prokofyevna Suslova — Download or order printed books by the author at the Directmedia online store