OUPblog (Oxford University Press)

The “Freest Writer” In Stalin’s Russia

The new scholarly work uncovers how Laurence Sterne’s 18th‑century novels resurfaced in Soviet Russia despite Stalinist censorship, becoming a covert touchstone for intellectuals seeking artistic freedom. By examining letters, diaries, translation drafts, and editorial correspondence, the authors trace Sterne’s reception from avant‑garde praise by Viktor Shklovsky to philosophical refuge for figures like Gustav Shpet. The study reveals a hidden community—the “secret order of Shandeans”—that spanned scholars, translators, soldiers, and even Gulag prisoners. This network used Sterne’s humor and digressive form as an imaginative escape from political conformity.