A Family Chronicle (1856) is Sergei Aksakov's blend of memoir and fiction that tells the story of one Russian family relocating from the city to Russia's eastern frontier in the steppes of Bashkiria. It is an attempt to record oral tradition in writing and occupies a unique place in the history of the nineteenth-century Russian narrative.


Aksakov has been called a "genius of reminiscences." This work is unmatched for its meticulous and realistic description of the everyday life of the Russian nobility and was well received by the literary greats of nineteenth-century Russian literature. It has also been said to contain a remarkably honest depiction of human psychology. With this edition of A Family Chronicle, the acclaimed translator Michael R. Katz improves upon the two earlier English versions (both now out of print).

Translated by: Michael R. Katz
Introduction by: Marcus C. Levitt