Remembering Leningrad
The Story of a Generation
Mary McAuley

“Better than a time-machine, McAuley takes readers on an exclusive guided tour of Leningrad in the 1960s and up to present day St. Petersburg. In this elegy for a city, the friendships she forged across fifty plus years lie at the heart of a nuanced, intimate, and serious portrait of Russians living through tumultuous times.”
—Kathleen E. Smith, Georgetown University

Englishwoman Mary McAuley first arrived in Leningrad in the early 1960s, eager to study labor relations for her thesis. Staying at a hostel, she met a number of Soviet students, many born under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Over the half-century that followed, McAuley traced their varying paths and the changing face of the former imperial capital.

Remembering Leningrad captures the story of a beautiful city and lifelong friendships. We follow McAuley as she walks through the streets downtown and examines politics in the 1960s, describes the hazards of furnishing an apartment in the 1990s, and learns about the challenges her friends have faced during these turbulent years. By weaving history and anecdotes to create a picture of Russia’s cultural center, McAuley underscores the impact of time and place on the Russian intelligentsia who lived through the transition from Soviet to post-Soviet life. The result is a remarkable group portrait of a generation.

Praise

“Relies on everyday experience rather than sociological or economic theory.”
—Shepherd Express

“McAuley provides an engaging introduction to everyday life in Leningrad/St. Petersburg since World War II.”
—Emily Johnson, University of Oklahoma

 

Of Related Interest

Daytime Stars A Poet's Memoir of the Revolution, the Siege of Leningrad, and the Thaw Olga Berggolts, Translated and edited by Lisa A. Kirschenbaum

Larger images

July 2019
256 pp. 6 x 9
20 b/w photos, 3 maps

	Casebound $39.95 A ISBN 9780299322502
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