Konstantin Batyushkov stands as a significant voice in Russian poetry from the first half of the 19th century. His work, characterized by its deeply elegiac and lyrical quality, was profoundly shaped by lifelong struggles with depression. Though his illness progressed in later years, he continued to write sporadically, leaving behind poetry that remains a prime example of Russian verse. Alongside Zhukovsky, Batyushkov was instrumental in developing Russia's poetic language and exerted a considerable influence on Pushkin.
Konstantin Batyushkov was one of the great poets of the Golden Age of Russian literature. Peter France interweaves Batyushkov's life and writings, presenting masterful new translations of his work with the compelling story of Batyushkov's career as a soldier, diplomat, and poet and his tragic decline into mental illness at the age of thirty-four.