This critical analysis of the two great masters of the Russian novel provides detailed plot summaries of the authors' works and draws on references to Homer, Shakespeare, Flaubert, Zola and Henty in order to illustrate the themes. George Steiner has also written "Language and Silence", "The Death of Tragedy", "After Babel", "In Bluebeard's Castle" and "Real Presences - Is There Anything in What We Say?".