The Letters and the Law: Legal and Literary Culture in Late Imperial Russia

The Letters and the Law explores the fraught relationship between writers and lawyers in the four decades following Alexander II's judicial reforms, framing it in terms of competition for cultural authority. Anna Schur argues that the first generations of Russian trial lawyers shaped their professional identity with an eye to the writer, and that their critiques of the law were a concerted effort to protect literature's exclusive cultural status in the context of modernization and the rapidly expanding public sphere.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2022
Publisher: Northwestern University Press

The intricate and often fraught relationship between writers and lawyers in the four decades following Alexander II's judicial reforms is explored in depth in The Letters and the Law. Nineteenth-century Russian literature is replete with negative portrayals of lawyers and the legal system, which have been interpreted by literary scholars as either a widespread, cross-cultural critique of lawyerly unscrupulousness and greed or as a manifestation of Russian hostility toward Western legalism, which is perceived as antithetical to traditional Russian values.

In groundbreaking fashion, The Letters and the Law presents the conflict between these two professions as a competition for cultural dominance. Anna Schur, the author, combines historical research with literary analysis to argue that the first generations of Russian trial lawyers fashioned their professional identity with a keen eye on the celebrated figure of the writer. They viewed their own activities as a form of verbal art, drawing inspiration from the literary greats.

Schur's book goes beyond the well-known critique of lawyers' legalistic tendencies and lack of moral principle to examine the writer's reactions to a whole network of explicit and implicit claims of similarity between the two professions. These claims, central to the lawyer's professional ideal, included shared goals, methods, and missions. Viewed in this light, writers' critiques of the law and lawyers emerge as a coordinated effort to protect literature's exclusive cultural status in the context of modernization and the rapidly expanding public sphere.

The study draws upon a diverse range of well-known and rarely studied nineteenth-century authors and texts, with particular emphasis on Fyodor Dostoevsky and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. It also incorporates a wide array of non-fiction sources, such as legal treatises and newspaper articles, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the period.

In conclusion, The Letters and the Law offers a fresh perspective on the complex relationship between writers and lawyers in nineteenth-century Russia. By framing the conflict as a competition for cultural dominance, Schur sheds

reveals the underlying tensions and conflicts that shaped the literary and legal landscapes of the time. Her insightful analysis sheds light on the ways of the writer's antipathy to the law and lawyers, and provides valuable insights into the complex interplay period. This book period. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Russian literature, history, and law, as well as anyone with an interest in the intersection of culture and power in nineteenth-century Europe.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780810144934