Mark Aldanov (; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, ; , 1888 or 1889 – February 25, 1957) was a Russian and later French writer and critic, known for his .
Aldanov's first book about Vladimir Lenin, translated into several languages, immediately gained him popularity. Then followed a trilogy of novels attempting to trace the roots of the Russian Revolution. He also wrote a tetralogy of novels about Napoleonic Wars. All in all, he published 16 larger literary works and a great number of articles and essays. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature thirteen times.
Biography
Mordkhai-Markus Landau (Aldanov) was born in
Kiev in the family of a rich
industrialist. He graduated the physical-mathematical and law departments of
Kiev University. He published serious research papers in chemistry. In 1919 he emigrated to France. During 1922-1924 he lived in
Berlin and during 1941-1946, in the United States.
Ivan Bunin, the first Russian writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, nominated Aldanov for the Nobel Prize a total of six times - in 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1950.[ Nominations by Nobel Laureates. Retrieved February 5, 2014.]
Mark Aldanov died in Nice, France. His extensive correspondence with Vladimir Nabokov, Ivan Bunin, Alexander Kerensky and other emigre celebrities was published posthumously.
Novy Zhurnal
In 1942, while in New York, Aldanov cofounded
Novy Zhurnal (
The New Review; Russian:
Новый журнал) together with his colleague and friend
Mikhail Tsetlin.
[Novy Zhurnal // ru.wikipedia.org. Retrieved February 5, 2014.] Until November 1945, they both served as Editors-in-Chief of this publication, which is considered the oldest Russian language literary periodical in print published outside of Russia.
[Literaturnaya premiya imeni Marka Aldanova // ru.wikipedia.org. Retrieved February 5, 2014.] Among the review's contributors were
Vladimir Nabokov,
Ivan Bunin,
Joseph Brodsky, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and other notable Russian emigre writers.
[ Novy Zhurnal - Official Website. Retrieved February 5, 2014.]
The Aldanov Literary Prize
Since 2007,
Novy Zhurnal has been awarding The Aldanov Literary Prize conferred for the best novella or novellete authored by a Russian-language writer living outside or Russia.
Bibliography
The Thinker, a tetralogy
Source:
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The Ninth Thermidor
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The Devil's Bridge
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The Conspiracy
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St. Helena: Little Island
Novels
Source:
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Punch Vodka
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The Ninth Thermidor
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The Devil's Bridge
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Conspiracy
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The Tenth Symphony
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Saint Helena, Little Island
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For Thee the Best
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A Story About Death
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Before the Deluge
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Suicide
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The Key
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Escape
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The Cave
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The Fifth Seal - The Beginning of the End
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Live As You Please
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Nightmare and Dawn
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Moltke the Younger
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Querétaro and Emperor Maximilian