Nagródskaia, Evdokiia (1866–1930)

Russian writer. Name variations: Evdokiia Nagrodskaia; Evdokia Nagrodskaia or Nagrodskaya. Born Evdokiia Apollonovna Golovacheva in Russia in 1866; died in 1930; daughter of Avdot'ia Panáeva (c. 1819–1893, a fiction and memoir writer) and Apollon Golovachev (a journalist); married.

Born in Russia in 1866, Evdokiia Nagródskaia was the daughter of Apollon Golovachev, a journalist, and Avdot'ia Panáeva , a fiction and memoir writer who played a major role in editing the liberal journal The Contemporary (1848–63). Nagródskaia's debut novel The Wrath of Dionysus created an uproar when it was first published in 1910. The bestseller's exploration of sexual and gender disorientation, unmarried mothers and women trying to balance family and career, was so popular that it went through ten international editions in only six years, and it later became the basis for a silent film that was considered racy for its time. The reputation she earned for this novel helped fuel sales of her later works, which included short stories, novels, poetry and a play.

Nagródskaia's novels are briskly paced, direct, and colored with some of the familiar themes of her era, including mystical faith, fantasy, art, androgyny, and distrust of reason. She emigrated to France with her husband following the 1917 Revolution in Russia, where her works lost favor in the changing political climate. In France, she published the historical trilogy The River of Time (1924–26), as well as one other novel, and died in 1930. In 1997, the first English-language translation of The Wrath of Dionysus was published by Indiana University Press and was hailed for its striking relevance to modern-day women.

sources:

Buck, Claire, ed. The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature. NY: Prentice Hall General Reference, 1992.

Publishers Weekly. August 11, 1997, p. 243.

Jacquie Maurice , freelance writer, Calgary, Alberta, Canada