6 h 43 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the person you love asks you to choose a life beyond everything your family expects?
At a country house near Moscow in the summer of 1853, Elena Stakhova longs to do real good. Andrei Bersenyev, a thoughtful scholar, loves her quietly. Pavel Shubin, a gifted sculptor, hides his feelings in jokes. Both offer affection, but Elena seeks a purpose neither seems able to give her.
Then Bersenyev brings Dmitri Insarov into the household. A Bulgarian student, he devotes his life to freeing his homeland from Ottoman rule. As Elena draws closer to him, love becomes a question of action and sacrifice. In On the Eve, Ivan Turgenev places her private choices against a restless Russia debating reform and the duties of the young.
What you’ll discover
- A restless young woman Enter Elena's thoughts through her diary and glimpse the childhood kindness behind her longing.
- Love with a purpose Watch Elena encounter a man whose commitment reaches far beyond his own happiness.
- Rivals beneath the wit Meet a loyal scholar and a joking sculptor whose affection takes very different forms.
- The pressure of convention Feel the strain between Elena's independent hopes and her father's expectations for her future.
- A quietly vivid world Linger over country conversations and landscapes that carry the mood without grand speeches.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like quiet, psychological novels, Russian country life and love stories with ideas inside them. It is also a good second step after Fathers and Sons. If you want fast plots and constant action, you may find it slow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Moscow summer in a country house
- Two suitors and a girl who waits
- Elena longs for active good
- Insarov arrives with a single purpose
- A small act shows a man's strength
- Love grows where it was not planned
- The price of choosing a cause
- What the novel is really about
- How Turgenev tells it and what it did
Who’s who
- Elena Nikolayevna StakhovaA serious, independent young woman who longs to do real good and to love someone who lives for a cause.
- Dmitri Nikanorovich InsarovA Bulgarian student in Moscow, reserved and determined, who has dedicated his life to freeing his homeland from Ottoman rule.
- Andrei Petrovich BersenyevA modest, thoughtful scholar and historian who loves Elena quietly and is loyal to his friends.
- Pavel Yakovlevich ShubinA gifted, witty sculptor who loves Elena, hides his feelings in jokes and struggles to focus his talent.
- Nikolai Artemyevich StakhovElena's father, a retired guards officer, pompous and distant, who expects his family to follow convention.
- KurnatovskyA capable, correct government official whom Elena's father favors as her husband and whom Elena finds cold.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 43 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear On the Eve in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A Moscow summer in a country house
The story opens in 1853 on the estate of the Stakhov family at Kuntsovo, outside Moscow. Two young friends lie under a lime tree on a hot day and talk lazily about life, art and love. One is Andrei Petrovich Bersenyev, a quiet young scholar who is studying history and hopes to become a professor. The other is Pavel Yakovlevich Shubin, a sculptor, quick, witty and a little vain.
Turgenev uses their talk to introduce the house they both visit. Nikolai Artemyevich Stakhov is a retired officer in the guards, a pompous man who likes to lay down the law at home. His wife, Anna Vasilievna, is soft, vague and easily upset. There is also Uvar Ivanovich, an old relative who sleeps through most of life and now and then says something unexpectedly wise.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Ivan Turgenev
1818–1883 · Russian novelist
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He was born in Oryol in 1818 and died near Paris in 1883. He lived in Russia, Germany and France. His books include A Nobleman’s Nest (1859), Fathers and Sons (1862) and Virgin Soil (1877).
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about On the Eve
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is On the Eve about?
It tells of Elena Stakhova, a young Russian woman who wants a purposeful life and falls in love with Insarov, a Bulgarian committed to freeing his country. It is both a love story and a portrait of a restless society.
What does the title On the Eve mean?
It points to a time just before great change. The story is set in 1853, before the Crimean War, and was written in 1860, just before Russia freed its serfs.
Who is Insarov in On the Eve?
Insarov is a Bulgarian student in Moscow whose whole life is aimed at liberating Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. His steadiness and courage draw Elena to him and unsettle the Russian men around her.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
