Just to the east of riotous, industrialising Western Europe sat Imperial Russia, pendent between tradition and modernity, a vast empire of duality. As if trying to vent her frustrations, 19th century Russia produced a selection of history’s finest writers; each writer packing their work with themes of duplicity, hope, and heavy social criticism.

Duality was the cardinal theme for Imperial Russia. 19th century Russia was a peasant-filled, agrarian empire rushed through the gawky adolescence of industrialisation. The serfs were only freed in 1861, and by 1900 around 2.3 million Russians worked inside factories: in a century, Russia had moved from a feudal system of serfdom to the shores of modernity. A theme of duplicity was carried throughout. The new industries and arterial railroads were European inventions, so was Russia a European nation? Or, did Russia’s devotion to the Tsar and the peasant commune separate her from the growingly liberal...