Boris Akunin
Encyclopedia
Boris Akunin is the pen name
of Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili (born May 20, 1956), a Russian writer. He is an essayist, literary translator
and writer of detective fiction
.
. Influenced by Japan
ese Kabuki
theatre, he joined the historical-philological branch of the Institute of Asian and African Countries
of Moscow State University
as an expert on Japan
. He worked as assistant to the editor-in-chief of the magazine Foreign Literature, but left in October 2000 to pursue a career as a fiction writer.
Under his given name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, he serves as editor-in-chief of the 20-volume Anthology of Japanese Literature, chairman of the board of a large "Pushkin Library " (Soros Fund), and is the author of the book The Writer and Suicide (Moscow, The New Literary Review, 1999). He has also contributed literary criticism and translations from Japanese
, American
and English literature
under his own name.
, The Adventures of Sister Pelagia, The Adventures of the Master (following Nicholas Fandorin, Erast's grandson), all published in Russia by Zakharov Books
, and the Roman-Kino ("Novel-Film") series set during World War I. Akunin's specialty is historical mysteries set in Imperial Russia. It was only after the first books of the Fandorin series were published to critical acclaim that the identity of B. Akunin (i.e., Chkhartishvili) was revealed.
Chkhartishvili "prefers to work with historical material" and has been called the "undisputed champion" of Russian crime fiction given that as Boris Akunin he "has written more than a dozen crime novels and has been widely appreciated by discerning readers . . . and has been translated into many languages."
"Akunin" (悪人) is a Japanese
word that translates loosely to "villain". In his novel The Diamond Chariot
, the author redefines an "akunin" as one who creates his own rules. The pseudonym "B. Akunin" may also allude to the anarchist Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin and to Akuna, the home name of poet Anna Akhmatova
.
novel Coronation, or the last of the Romanovs.
In 2003 the British
Crime Writers' Association
placed Akunin's novel The Winter Queen
on the short list for the Dagger Award in Fiction
.
, The Turkish Gambit
and The State Counsellor
, were made into big-budget Russian movies.
An English remake of The Winter Queen is currently in production, set to be released in 2012. It was set to start filming in 2007, but the leading actress, Milla Jovovich
, became pregnant.
Additionally, Pelagia and the White Bulldog was made into a TV mini-series in 2009, while The Spy Novel came out in a 2011 theatrical release as The Spy.
Note: (The Jack of Spades and The Decorator were published together in a single volume, Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin
/ Особые поручения.)
, Azerbaijanhttp://borisakunin.livejournal.com/6193.html?page=1#comments) and another collection of short stories and novellas, similar in structure to The Jade Rosary and taking place entirely during the 20th centuryhttp://www.shoppingonline.ru/news/news_120.html.
The Genres project will continue as well. Besides exploring new genres, Akunin plans to write sequels to The Children's Book and The Spy Novel, possibly co-authored with other Russian writershttp://old.aif.ru/konsult/index.php?pj=25&id_razd=1567&jjj=6.
As of September 2011, Akunin was reported to be working on a book about the Crimean War
, though it was still unclear whether it would be a stand-alone novel or a part of a series.http://news.rambler.ru/11180711/
The novel is set in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (in the beginning of the reign of Peter the Great) and centers on three young Russians, a nobleman, a priest's son, and a peasant, who get involved in an investigation of a regicidal plot. Despite Akunin's denials, some readers have concluded that the literary devices used by the author and the language of the novel give reason to believe that he may have been involved in its creation. Others, however, feel that the novel is written and plotted poorly, and could not have been authored by Akunin.
The rumors about the authorship of Devyatny Spas have also been fueled by the total secrecy surrounding the person of the author and the fact that his name, A. O. Brusnikin, is an exact anagram of Boris Akunin. AST has also released a photograph of Brusnikin, which appears to be either of a young Chkhartishvili or a computer-generated composite of several portraits, including Chkhartishvili's.http://kp.ru/daily/24067.3/306445
In 2010, the second Brusnikin novel was published in Russian. It is called Герой иного времени (A Hero From A Different Time) and is set in the 1840s in the Caucasus
. The theme of the novel prompted further speculation on the possibility of Akunin's involvement. This is due to the fact that both of Brusnikin's books deal with the subjects that Akunin had planned to write about but later abandoned - Peter the Great and the Caucasus War.
Borisova's works are not genre fiction as all three novels explore philosophical dilemmas, mostly involving human mortality. Her literary style, however, as well as certain ideas voiced in the books, closely resemble Akunin's.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili (born May 20, 1956), a Russian writer. He is an essayist, literary translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and writer of detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
.
Life and career
Chkhartishvili was born in Zestafoni to a Georgian father and Jewish motherhttp://borisakunin.livejournal.com/22718.html, and since 1958 has lived in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Influenced by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
theatre, he joined the historical-philological branch of the Institute of Asian and African Countries
Institute of Asian and African Countries
INSTITUTE OF ASIAN AND AFRICAN COUNTRIES at Lomonosov Moscow State University was founded in 1956 as the Institute of Oriental Languages. Today's name from 1972. It is the leading Russian Centre for Oriental Studies. It employs more than 250 members including 28 professors and 70 assistant professors...
of Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
as an expert on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He worked as assistant to the editor-in-chief of the magazine Foreign Literature, but left in October 2000 to pursue a career as a fiction writer.
Under his given name of Grigory Chkhartishvili, he serves as editor-in-chief of the 20-volume Anthology of Japanese Literature, chairman of the board of a large "Pushkin Library " (Soros Fund), and is the author of the book The Writer and Suicide (Moscow, The New Literary Review, 1999). He has also contributed literary criticism and translations from Japanese
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
, American
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
and English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
under his own name.
Boris Akunin
Under the pseudonym Boris Akunin, he has written many works of fiction, mainly novels and stories in the series The Adventures of Erast FandorinErast Fandorin
Erast Petrovich Fandorin is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first novel was published in Russia in 1998, and the latest was published in December 2009...
, The Adventures of Sister Pelagia, The Adventures of the Master (following Nicholas Fandorin, Erast's grandson), all published in Russia by Zakharov Books
Zakharov Books
Zakharov Books is one of the main Russian independent publishing houses.Founded by the journalist Igor Zakharov in 1998 as a small independent publishing company, they gradually developed into an important publisher of popular and literary fiction...
, and the Roman-Kino ("Novel-Film") series set during World War I. Akunin's specialty is historical mysteries set in Imperial Russia. It was only after the first books of the Fandorin series were published to critical acclaim that the identity of B. Akunin (i.e., Chkhartishvili) was revealed.
Chkhartishvili "prefers to work with historical material" and has been called the "undisputed champion" of Russian crime fiction given that as Boris Akunin he "has written more than a dozen crime novels and has been widely appreciated by discerning readers . . . and has been translated into many languages."
"Akunin" (悪人) is a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word that translates loosely to "villain". In his novel The Diamond Chariot
The Diamond Chariot
The Diamond Chariot school of Tantric Buddhism) is a historical mystery novel by internationally acclaimed Russian detective story writer Boris Akunin, published originally in 2003. It is the tenth novel in Akunin's Erast Fandorin series of detective novels...
, the author redefines an "akunin" as one who creates his own rules. The pseudonym "B. Akunin" may also allude to the anarchist Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin and to Akuna, the home name of poet Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
.
Awards and honors
In 2000 Akunin was nominated for the Smirnoff-Booker Prize. In September 2000, Akunin was named Russian Writer of the Year and won the "Antibooker" prize in 2000 for his Erast FandorinErast Fandorin
Erast Petrovich Fandorin is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first novel was published in Russia in 1998, and the latest was published in December 2009...
novel Coronation, or the last of the Romanovs.
In 2003 the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
placed Akunin's novel The Winter Queen
The Winter Queen (novel)
The Winter Queen is the first novel from the Erast Fandorin series of historical detective novels, written by Russian author Boris Akunin...
on the short list for the Dagger Award in Fiction
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year.For its first five years, the organization's top honor was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award....
.
Adaptations
Three Fandorin novels, The Winter QueenAzazel (film)
Azazel is a Russian made for TV adaptation of Boris Akunin's introductory 'Erast Fandorin' novel The Winter Queen.-Plot summary:This historical detective story features a young police inspector, Erast Fandorin...
, The Turkish Gambit
The Turkish Gambit (film)
The Turkish Gambit is a 2005 Russian film, an adaptation of Boris Akunin's popular novel The Turkish Gambit featuring detective Erast Fandorin. It was directed by Dzhanik Faiziyev, and starred Yegor Beroyev, Marat Basharov and Olga Krasko. Akunin adapted his own novel...
and The State Counsellor
The State Counsellor (film)
The State Counseller is a 2005 Russian film, an adaptation of Boris Akunin's novel of the same name featuring detective Erast Fandorin. Directed by Filipp Yankovsky, it was one of the most expensive films ever made in Russia....
, were made into big-budget Russian movies.
An English remake of The Winter Queen is currently in production, set to be released in 2012. It was set to start filming in 2007, but the leading actress, Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich December 17, 1975)is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".Milla Jovovich began...
, became pregnant.
Additionally, Pelagia and the White Bulldog was made into a TV mini-series in 2009, while The Spy Novel came out in a 2011 theatrical release as The Spy.
List of Works
- Erast FandorinErast FandorinErast Petrovich Fandorin is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first novel was published in Russia in 1998, and the latest was published in December 2009...
series (dates are for the setting of the narrative, not publication). Each novel is assigned its own subgenre of detective fiction (conspiracy, political, etc.):
- The Winter QueenThe Winter Queen (novel)The Winter Queen is the first novel from the Erast Fandorin series of historical detective novels, written by Russian author Boris Akunin...
, original title AzazelAzazelAzazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
/ Азазель (1876). A conspiracy mystery. The 20-year old Fandorin begins his career by accidentally stumbling over a plot for world domination. http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/azazel/ - The Turkish GambitThe Turkish GambitThe Turkish Gambit is the second novel from the Erast Fandorin series of historical detective novels by Russian author Boris Akunin. It was published in Russia in 1998...
/ Турецкий гамбит (1877) http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/turetsky_gambit/. A spy mystery. The story is set before the backdrop of the Russo-Turkish War, in particular the Siege of Plevna. - Murder on the LeviathanMurder on the LeviathanMurder on the Leviathan is the third novel in the Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin, although it was the second book in the series to be translated into English. Its subtitle is герметический детектив...
/ Левиафан (1878) http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/leviafan/. A closed set-up mystery. The third novel in the series, but the second released in English. Set on a steamship headed from EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. - The Death of AchillesThe Death of AchillesThe Death of Achilles is the fourth novel in the Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin. Its subtitle is детектив о наемном убийце . It was originally published in Russian in 1998; the English translation was released in 2006.-Plot:Moscow, 1882...
/ Смерть Ахиллеса (1882) http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/smert_ahillesa/. A hired assassin mystery. The story unwinds from the death of Mikhail SkobelevMikhail SkobelevMikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
(called Sobolev in the novel) in a Moscow hotel. - The Jack of SpadesSpecial AssignmentsSpecial Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin is a book by Russian author Boris Akunin, published in 2007. The book contains two novellas featuring his character Erast Fandorin: The Jack of Spades and The Decorator...
/ Пиковый валет (1886) http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/pikovyi_valet/. A novella about confidence men. Fandorin hunts down a clever gang of swindlers. - The DecoratorSpecial AssignmentsSpecial Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin is a book by Russian author Boris Akunin, published in 2007. The book contains two novellas featuring his character Erast Fandorin: The Jack of Spades and The Decorator...
/ Декоратор (1889) http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/erast/dekorator/. A novella about a maniac. After ending his string of murders in England, Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
surfaces in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. - The State Counsellor / Статский советник (1891). A political mystery. Revolutionary terrorism in late 19th-century Russia takes center stage.
- The Coronation / original title Coronation, or the Last of the Romanovs (Коронация, или Последний из Романов) (1896). A high society mystery. The plot surrounds the ascension of Tsar Nicholas IINicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. - She Lover of Death / Любовница смерти (1900). A decadent mystery. A decadent suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
society causes a stir in Moscow. - He Lover of Death / Любовник Смерти (1900). A DickensianCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
mystery. Set in the slums of KhitrovkaKhitrovkaKhitrov marketplace , also known as Khitrovka , was a square in the centre of Moscow from 1820 to 1930. This square was located in place of today’s house №11a in Podkolokolny sidestreet. In the second half of the 19th century Khitrovka became a bawdy place of Moscow, a den for thousands of...
, Moscow. - The Diamond ChariotThe Diamond ChariotThe Diamond Chariot school of Tantric Buddhism) is a historical mystery novel by internationally acclaimed Russian detective story writer Boris Akunin, published originally in 2003. It is the tenth novel in Akunin's Erast Fandorin series of detective novels...
/ Алмазная колесница (1905 / 1878). An ethnographic mystery. Events of the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1905 set against a flashback to Fandorin's diplomatic service in YokohamaYokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. - The Jade Rosary / Нефритовые четки (a collection of short stories and novellas set in the 19th century): Some of the "holes" in the canon are filled, including Fandorin's service in Japan, his investigations in the 1880s while a Deputy for Special Assignments in the Moscow city administration and his adventures in America.
- All the World's a Stage / Весь мир театр (1911). A theatrical mystery. The 55-year-old Fandorin has his life turned upside-down when investigating strange incidents in a fashionable Moscow theater.
Note: (The Jack of Spades and The Decorator were published together in a single volume, Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin
Special Assignments
Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin is a book by Russian author Boris Akunin, published in 2007. The book contains two novellas featuring his character Erast Fandorin: The Jack of Spades and The Decorator...
/ Особые поручения.)
- Sister Pelagia series (about a crime-solving nunNunA nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
in turn-of-the-20th-century provincial Russia):
- Pelagia and the White Bulldog (US title: Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog) / Пелагия и белый бульдог http://akunin.ru/knigi/pelagia/pelagia_i_belyi_buldog/
- Pelagia and the Black Monk (US title: Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk) / Пелагия и черный монах
- Pelagia and the Red Rooster (US title: Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel) / Пелагия и красный петух
- Nicholas FandorinNicholas FandorinNicholas Fandorin is the protagonist of three novels by Boris Akunin, subtitled ' "adventures of the magister [viz., the MA]". The uniting concept of the series is that each novel combines two storylines, one set in present-day Russia , and a related one set in the Tsarist Russia .*2001: Altyn...
series (about Erast Fandorin's grandson, a modern-day British historian):
- Altyn Tolobas / Алтын-толобас http://akunin.ru/knigi/fandorin/nikolas/altyn-tolobas/: Nicholas visits Russia in 1995 while a story of his 17th-century ancestor is told in alternating chapters.
- Extracurricular Reading/ Внеклассное чтение: Nicholas' adventures in Moscow in 2001 are told together with a story of yet another ancestor, this one set in the end of Catherine the Great's reign.
- F.M.: Nicholas is looking for a lost Dostoevsky manuscript.
- The Falcon and the Swallow / Сокол и Ласточка: A book within a book, based on a Treasure IslandTreasure IslandTreasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
-like adventure taking place in 1702 and 2009.
- The Genres Project (novels written in different fiction genres, each book's title refers to the particular genre):
- Children's Book / Детская книга: Erast Fandorin Jr. (Nicholas' ten-year-old son) goes on a time-travelling adventure.
- Spy Novel / Шпионский роман: Set in 1941, just before Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.
- Science Fiction / Фантастика: Two young men cope with their mysteriously acquired superpowers in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's dying days. - Quest / Квест: In 1930, an Indiana JonesIndiana JonesColonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
-like American scientist and two of his colleagues go to Moscow in an attempt to disrupt Soviet eugenicsEugenicsEugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
experiments. The novel imitates a computer game. The second part of the narrative, called Codes to the Novel is set in 1812, during Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
- Brüderschaft with Death (A "cinematic novel", written as a collection of ten novellas ("films") about the rivalry between Russian and German intelligence during World War I. Each "film" is written in a different cinematic genre. There are two main characters in the series: Alexei Romanov and Sepp von Theofels). The following "films" have been released in Russian:
- The Infant and the Devil / Младенец и черт. Comedy. July 1914. A German ace of espionage is trying to steal the plans of Russian military operations, as a young St. Petersburg student unexpectedly interferes.
- The Torment of a Broken Heart / Мука разбитого сердца. Melodrama. November 1914. Junior sergeant Alexei Romanov, sent away from the front after being wounded, takes part in an operation in Switzerland, where Russian intelligence is attempting to neutralize a "dealer in secrets."
- The Flying Elephant / Летающий слон. Aeronautic adventures. April 1915. Captain von Theofels infiltrates Russia's Special Aviation Corps in order to sabotage the development of the world's first heavy bomber, the Sikorsky Ilya MurometsSikorsky Ilya MurometsThe Ilya Muromets refers to a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and heavy military bombing aircraft used during World War I by the Russian Empire. The aircraft series was named after Ilya Muromets, a hero from Russian mythology...
. - Children of the Moon / Дети Луны. A decadent étude: August 1915. Ensign Romanov, fresh after completing the Russian General Staff's counter-intelligence course, goes undercover into a Petrograd society of young decadentsDecadenceDecadence can refer to a personal trait, or to the state of a society . Used to describe a person's lifestyle. Concise Oxford Dictionary: "a luxurious self-indulgence"...
. One of the members is about to transfer a copy of secret military documents to a German spy. - The Wandering Man / Странный человек. Mystical. December 1915. Major von Theofels is trying to discredit the head of Russian military intelligence. To achieve his goal he is trying to get close to a mysterious "Wanderer" who greatly resembles the historical Grigory Rasputin. The Russian title plays with the double meaning of the word "странный": wandering (archaic meaning) and strange, weird.
- Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble! / Гром победы, раздавайся! Front-line sketch. April 1916. Junior lieutenant Romanov's adventures at Russia's South-Western Front, as he is trying to ensure the secrecy of the plans for the impending Brusilov OffensiveBrusilov OffensiveThe Brusilov Offensive , also known as the June Advance, was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Prof. Graydon A. Tunstall of the University of South Florida called the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 the worst crisis of...
. - Mariya, Maria... / "Мария", Мария... A true tale of the sea. October 1916. Major von Theofels has a new assignment, to sabotage the Russian battleship Imperatritsa Mariya.
- Nothing SacredNothing SacredNothing Sacred may refer to:* Nothing Sacred , a 1937 screwball comedy starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March* Nothing Sacred , a controversial 1997 ABC television show starring Kevin Anderson...
/ Ничего святого. A hellish scheme of the Germans. November 1916. Von Theofels and his nemesis Alexei Romanov are about to meet again as the German spy is preparing an assassination of Czar Nicholas II. This time, Romanov, now a lieutenant, is a much more worthy opponent. - Operation Transit / Операция "Транзит". Preapocalyptic. April 1917. With Russia facing political turmoil after the February RevolutionFebruary RevolutionThe February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, the Germans hope to further the collapse by helping the Bolshevik leader V. I. Lenin return to the country. Major von Theofels' new assignment is to ensure his safe passage. - The Angels Battalion / Батальон ангелов. Apocalyptic. Summer 1917. With Russia's ability to sustain the war at an end and the army demoralized, the Russian Provisional GovernmentRussian Provisional GovernmentThe Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
creates the Women's Battalion of Death in order to boost the soldiers' morale. Stabskapitän Alexei Romanov joins the strange outfit as an instructor.
- Non-series books:
- The Seagull / Чайка, Комедия в двух действиях: a reworking of Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
as a mystery http://akunin.ru/knigi/prochee/chaika/ - Comedy/Tragedy (the Tragedy is also known as "Hamlet, by B. Akunin," with "Mirror of Saint Germain" being the alternate name for the Comedy.)
- Yin and Yang/Инь и Ян (a play about Erast Fandorin, set in 1882).
- Fairy Tales for Idiots / Сказки для Идиотов http://akunin.ru/knigi/prochee/skazki/ (a collection of short stories, not related to any of the series).
Future plans
As Akunin has indicated in interviews, the Sister Pelagia series is finished (only three books were ever planned) and so, in all likelihood, is the Nicholas Fandorin series. The Alexei Romanov/Sepp von Theofels series, planned for 10 novellas, was completed in 2011. The other two projects will continue. In particular, Akunin plans to write at least two more Erast Fandorin books, including one more novel (which will probably take place in BakuBaku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijanhttp://borisakunin.livejournal.com/6193.html?page=1#comments) and another collection of short stories and novellas, similar in structure to The Jade Rosary and taking place entirely during the 20th centuryhttp://www.shoppingonline.ru/news/news_120.html.
The Genres project will continue as well. Besides exploring new genres, Akunin plans to write sequels to The Children's Book and The Spy Novel, possibly co-authored with other Russian writershttp://old.aif.ru/konsult/index.php?pj=25&id_razd=1567&jjj=6.
As of September 2011, Akunin was reported to be working on a book about the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, though it was still unclear whether it would be a stand-alone novel or a part of a series.http://news.rambler.ru/11180711/
Anatoly Brusnikin
In November 2007, AST, one of the publishing houses with which Akunin is affiliated, came out with a historical mystery novel by a new author, Anatoly Brusnikin, called Девятный спас (Devyatny Spas, The Ninth Savior). Despite the fact that Brusnikin was a complete unknown, AST spent lavishly on an advertising campaign for the book, which almost immediately resulted in rumors that Brusnikin might actually be Akunin in a new disguise.The novel is set in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (in the beginning of the reign of Peter the Great) and centers on three young Russians, a nobleman, a priest's son, and a peasant, who get involved in an investigation of a regicidal plot. Despite Akunin's denials, some readers have concluded that the literary devices used by the author and the language of the novel give reason to believe that he may have been involved in its creation. Others, however, feel that the novel is written and plotted poorly, and could not have been authored by Akunin.
The rumors about the authorship of Devyatny Spas have also been fueled by the total secrecy surrounding the person of the author and the fact that his name, A. O. Brusnikin, is an exact anagram of Boris Akunin. AST has also released a photograph of Brusnikin, which appears to be either of a young Chkhartishvili or a computer-generated composite of several portraits, including Chkhartishvili's.http://kp.ru/daily/24067.3/306445
In 2010, the second Brusnikin novel was published in Russian. It is called Герой иного времени (A Hero From A Different Time) and is set in the 1840s in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. The theme of the novel prompted further speculation on the possibility of Akunin's involvement. This is due to the fact that both of Brusnikin's books deal with the subjects that Akunin had planned to write about but later abandoned - Peter the Great and the Caucasus War.
Anna Borisova
It has also been rumored that another mysterious writer (and one also under contract with AST), Anna Borisova, is in fact Akunin. The speculation stems from the same facts as with Brusnikin. Namely, the last name Borisova which means "that of Boris", the secrecy around the supposedly female writer and the style and themes of the author's novels, of which to date have been three, Там (Tam, There), Креативщик (Kreativshchik, The Idea-Man) and Vremena Goda (Seasons), released in 2008, 2009, and 2011, respectively.Borisova's works are not genre fiction as all three novels explore philosophical dilemmas, mostly involving human mortality. Her literary style, however, as well as certain ideas voiced in the books, closely resemble Akunin's.
External links
Akunin's site (contains the full text of ten novels) Akunin's personal blog Fandorin.ru Official Site of Erast Fandorin and other Akunin characters The Erast P. Fandorin Virtual Museum- Akunin.net Akunin's published books in Russian, English, German and French, last updated in 2005
- Times online interview with Boris Akunin
- Boris Akunin: the Evil Spirit or Good Luck of Modern Russian Fiction?
- 2002 AEI paper analyzing Akunin's works
- Russian library site containing the full texts of most of Akunin's novels, including all three Pelagia novels, two Nicholas Fandorin novels, and all Erast Fandorin books except The Jade Rosary and All the World's a Stage
- Boris Akunin at RT Russiapedia