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The formative years of a revolutionary
STEVE ANDREW relishes a history of Lenin’s childhood and adolescence that gives a useful insight his personality
(L to R) Vladimir Ulyanov in his gymnasium years, this photograph was attached to a petition for admission to Kazan University dated July 29 1887; The Ulyanov family, Maria Alexandrovna, Ilya Nikolaevich and their children in 1879 (Aleksandr standing in the middle, Vladimir sitting to the right).
[(L to R) BR Bick / Alexander Bulla /CC]
APURBA CHATTERJEE explains how British artists in India used the “picturesque” to reshape colonial landscapes and celebrate imperial power
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes a revival of Reginald Rose’s classic play that reminds us of the fundamental need for trials with juries
SIMON PARSONS applauds an exceptional performance of Wesker’s little-known play, by the same actor for whom it was written 45 years ago
ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review Late Fame, The Death of Robin Hood, Leviticus, and Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
GORDON PARSONS enjoys Kant’s ‘mind-boggling’ theory of human reality: that we create the reality we experience
Lenin’s childhood
Isaac Deutscher
Verso, £10.99
POLISH Marxist Isaac Deutscher is best known for having penned monumental biographies of Bolshevik leaders Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, the latter running into some three huge volumes.
Whether or not the reader may agree with the perspectives contained therein, no-one could ever doubt Deutscher’s majestic writing style and his lifelong ability for research that was both meticulous and groundbreaking.
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HENRY BELL salutes a fine portrait of a revolutionary who remains a deeply significant and provocative figure
ALEX HALL welcomes a history of the Bund, and its emphatic demand for working-class solidarity across racial and ethnic difference
BEN CHACKO unpicks the significance of the discovery, in 2015, of ancient texts about Confucius. Was he simply a teacher, or a philosopher, statesman and saint?
JOHN REES replies to Claudia Webbe