Peace, Richard 1933–

(Richard Arthur Peace)

PERSONAL: Born February 22, 1933, in Burley-in-Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England; son of Herman (in business) and Dorothy (a homemaker; maiden name, Wall) Peace; married Shirley Mary Virginia Wright (a lecturer), October 18, 1960; children: Mary Virginia, Catherine Elizabeth. Ethnicity: "British." Education: Oxford University, B.A., M.A., B.Litt.

ADDRESSES: Home—25 Guycroft, Otley LS21 3DS, England. Office—University of Bristol, Woodland Rd., Bristol, England. E-mail—richardpeace@compuserve.com.

CAREER: University of Bristol, Bristol, England, 1963–75, began as lecturer, became senior lecturer in Russian; University of Hull, Hull, England, professor of Russian, 1975−84; University of Bristol, professor of Russian, 1984–94, professor emeritus, 1994–. Military service: British Army, 1952–54.

MEMBER: British Universities Association of Slavists (president, 1977–80), Association of Teachers of Russian (president, 1983–84).

WRITINGS:

Dostoyevsky: An Examination of the Major Novels, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1971.

The Enigma of Gogol: An Examination of the Writings of N.V. Gogol and Their Place in the Russian Literary Tradition, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1981.

Chekhov: A Study of the Four Major Plays, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1983.

"Oblomov:" A Critical Examination of Goncharov's Novel, Birmingham Slavonic Monographs (Birmingham, England), 1991.

Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground," Bristol Classical Press (Bristol, England), 1993.

(Editor and author of introduction) A.S. Griboyedov, Woe from Wit, Bristol Classical Press (Bristol, England, 1995.

(Editor and contributor) Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment": A Casebook, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Also author of The Novels of Turgenev: Symbols and Emblems (online publication). Contributor to books, including The Cambridge History of Russian Literature, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1989; Gogol: Village Evenings near Dikanka and Mirogorod, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1994; author of introduction to Petersburg Tales; Marriage; The Government Inspector, by Nikolai Gogol, edited by Christopher English, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1995; and author of introduction and notes to Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1998. Founding editor, Journal of Russian Studies, 1959–65.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard Peace once told CA: "I taught myself Russian as a schoolboy, without help, and passed the certificate examination in the subject. I studied Russian during national service in the army and went on to read Russian at Oxford. My interests are the major literary forms of the nineteenth century and the insights which literature provides in national psychology."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

British Book News, May, 1982, review of The Enigma of Gogol: An Examination of the Writings of N.V. Gogol and Their Place in the Russian Literary Tradition, p. 323; December, 1982, review of The Enigma of Gogol, p. 729.

Choice, September, 1971, review of Dostoyevsky: An Examination of the Major Novels, p. 840; July, 1982, review of The Enigma of Gogol, p. 1565; December, 1983, review of Chekhov: A Study of the Four Major Plays, p. 580.

Comparative Drama, spring, 1985, review of Chekhov, p. 90.

Journal of European Studies, June, 1995, Diane Thompson, review of Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground," p. 232.

Library Journal, March 15, 1971, review of Dostoyevsky, p. 962.

Modern Fiction Studies, winter, 1982, review of The Enigma of Gogol, p. 703.

Modern Language Journal, February, 1972, review of Dostoyevsky, p. 98.

Modern Language Review, April, 1983, review of The Enigma of Gogol, p. 509; April, 1985, review of Chekhov, p. 510; July, 1993, Richard Freeborn, review of "Oblomov:" A Critical Examination of Goncharov's Novel, p. 814; April, 1995, Liddy Croft, review of Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground," p. 535.

Russian Review, July, 1995, Victor Terras, review of Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground," p. 453.

Slavic and East European Journal, summer, 1993, Milton Ehre, review of "Oblomov," p. 248.

Slavonic and East European Review, January, 1993, Faith Wigzell, review of "Oblomov," p. 140.

Spectator, June 12, 1971, review of Dostoyevsky, p. 815.

Theatre Journal, March, 1985, review of Chekhov, p. 128.

Times Literary Supplement, April 9, 1971, review of Dostoyevsky, p. 418; June 4, 1982, review of The Enigma of Gogol, p. 621; April 27, 1984, review of Chekhov, p. 471.

Virginia Quarterly Review, winter, 1984, review of Chekhov, p. 7.