Литератор или историк?Researcher or mystifier? Edward Radzinsky chose to write his books a style that once brought recognition to the great Alexander Dumas - the style of historical narration. However, unlike Radzinsky, Dumas never claimed the accuracy of the chronicler. He created exclusively artistic works, although he invested in them a fair amount of interpretation of the causes of significant historical events. And Edward Radzinsky's books abound with citations of historical documents, extracted by the author from dusty archives and storages.
So what is this?A true story, described in a living language? Or just a successful genre move, bringing a considerable income? Whatever it was, no one will argue with the fact that under the skilled writer's pen, historical personalities who, thanks to the general school curriculum, have been remembered at best by a combination of several dry dates and events, gain flesh and blood and draw the reader into the whirlpool of real passions and accomplishments.
Becoming a writer
Edward Radzinsky was born in 1936.At the time of his childhood, the very heat of Stalin's repression fell. The future writer turned 17 years old when the great leader died. By that time, Edward was already a mature youth, able to understand and analyze what was happening around him. Moreover, he lived in Moscow and was brought up in the family of a playwright, and hence, from the earliest years, he revolved in the center of public life.
Soon the young man enters the MoscowHistorical and Archival Institute. Probably, even at that time an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the events of the long-past days began to manifest itself, which is consuming the popular author to this day. Many hours were spent in dusty archives by an unknown student.
Especially he was captured by stories about JosephVissarionovich. Subsequently, for a whole decade, Radzinsky Edward ("Stalin" - a novel over which, according to the author himself, he thought for the rest of his life) will conduct a revision of his life.
However, the historical strata that raiseswriter, are by no means limited to any one or two centuries. It is not tied to any geographical location. Edward Radzinsky's books can take the reader both during the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, and at a concert for Mozart, and in the dark alleys of the palaces of the reign of Nicholas II.
Carier start
Писатель Эдвард Радзинский, биография которого в literary aspect begins the breakdown of the pen in drama, his first play written in 1958. She had some success. The play was dedicated to G. Lebedev, a Russian scientist who studied the history and culture of India. This image was well known to a recent graduate, since his thesis was dedicated to G. Lebedev.
Edward Stanislavovich begins to learn how to extractpractical benefit from information, which for the majority remains absolutely unclaimed. He understands that his enthusiasm can turn boring for the townsfolk into fascinating stories. And this discovery inspires him.
Confession
However, a real fame comes to the newly-made playwright with the production of the work "104 pages about love."
Soon he tries his hand and in the work of a screenwriter - in 1968 he released a black and white feature film "Once Again About Love," which is the processing of a favorite play.
С этой поры драматург, продолжая работать над theatrical works, does not bypass the film industry. He is the author of a screenplay of seven television films. At the same time, his plays are gaining popularity not only in the vast expanses of the Soviet Union, but also abroad.
TV shows
In the 1990s, the situation in the countrywas changing. It was necessary to look for new sources of income, which Edward Radzinsky fully understood, whose films, although they continued to be shot, were paid for this once, and the profit from the plays was rapidly declining, since most people at that time simply did not have time for the theater.
And then he undertakes the popularization of history withthe TV screen. Over any kind of visual escorts, he does not bother, but just sits in the studio in front of the camera and broadcasts the text in the form of a lecture.
However, these transfers are a success.And, in spite of the fact that Radzinsky can not even be considered a talented speaker even with great stretch, the information he presented from the screen captured the viewers so much that the design flawed against her background.
The secret of popularity
Edvard Radzinsky likes to refer to names,which are heard by people - Nero, Socrates, Seneca, Casanova, Mozart, Napoleon, Nikolai Romanov, Stalin. He appeals to the unquenchable interest that excites these individuals throughout the centuries. What is the secret of Mozart's genius? Why did Stalin manage to stay in power? Why did they commit the brutal murder of the entire royal family?
However, the main ingredient of the historian's success is notquestions "why" and even not in the answers to these questions. The real talent of the writer is that he talks about historical personalities as neighbors or close friends. They cease to be shadows from the past and turn into truly living people who want to empathize.
From telecasts to books
For a long time Radzinsky conducted the program "Riddleshistory ", for which he was awarded the" Tafi "prize. Realizing that he had found the right channel, Edvard Radzinsky, whose "Mysteries of History" was gradually being exhausted, goes on to write historical novels.
Soon his novels becomebestsellers and are published in many languages by the largest publishers. However, the attitude towards the works of Radzinsky remains extremely ambiguous. It's funny, but exactly what helped him to gain popularity, namely - the ability to vividly draw historical events, was the main reason for criticism.
And it is true that while reading his novels, at some point you involuntarily catch yourself thinking, but is it really a historical reality or just a successful art fiction?
Criticism
It can not be said that the critics' arguments are absolutelyare devastated, but they can not be completely groundless. Here is one example of the inaccuracy that Edward Radzinsky ("Napoleon: life after death") admitted in his novel: after the conversation that took place in 1804 between Bonaparte and Fouche, the emperor complained that "Byron and Beethoven denied him the former love ". The incident is that by the time Byron turned 16 years old and the opinion of this boy well could not possibly excite Napoleon.
This discrepancy is indisputably forgivable for the writer, but Edvard Radzinsky claims to be a historian, and they are judged quite differently.
Detective elements
Another historical character, to which EdwardStanislavovich paid a decent attention - the last emperor of All-Russia. And in this work he fully reveals another feature of the author, which helped him to win such a wide range of readers. This is an element inherent in the detective story, the illusion that the reader is slowly unraveling a complex matter, relying on documents, evidence and available facts, which Edward Radzinsky provides as far as the narrative goes.
Nicholas II and his family act in this rolevictims of cold blooded murder, and by the end of the novel the reader gets a complete picture of the events that led to the shooting of the person who refused the throne and who did not exert the slightest resistance of the emperor with his wife, his young daughters and the sick young son.
Bold theories
An approach of Edward Stanislavovich toconclusions, which he makes on the basis of the information received. It is clear that anyone, even the most meticulous historian, has to fill in the blanks invariably present in the historical canvas with some assumptions. However, Radzinsky's theories are quite unexpected.
For example, in one of the works he leadsa series of evidence that Tsarevich Alexei had escaped after a bloody night of shooting in the Ipatiev House. According to Radzinsky, Alexei Nikolaevich grew up safely and became an exemplary Soviet citizen working out the shifts at the plant. It is clear that he had to change his name and kept his origin secret. But when he was found, he calmly and without a complaint presented evidence that he really Romanov.
However, the author did not bother to explain howThus, a boy with hemophilia, for whom literally any scratch posed a real danger to life, could, wounded by bullet shots, survive in the forest. Nor does he tell how the crown prince in general could live to adulthood. This was unlikely even under the vigilant supervision of the best doctors in the royal family.
Подводя итог вышесказанному, можно отметить, что in the event that you are writing a serious scientific work on history, referring to the novels of Edward Radzinsky as an authoritative original source will probably be somewhat unprofessional. But if you are just interested in the story, it is worth reading its creations. If you treat them with a share of healthy skepticism, you can learn a lot of interesting things for yourself. So enjoy reading!
