| From The Publisher* | The first Russian novel to focus on homosexuality, Wings was published in 1906 to the scandalized reaction of contemporary society and the generations which followed. Its central theme of aestheticised sensuality has drawn comparisons with the work of his contemporaries Oscar Wilde and Andre Gide. The young Vanya Smurov is deeply attached to his mentor, Dr Larion Stroop, and to the world of Renaissance Art which the latter reveals to him. Initially appalled by the sudden discovery of Stroop's homosexual leanings, Vanya abandons him to pursue a "normal," heterosexual existence. In turn disgusted by ensuing encounters he returns to Dr Stroop and accompanies him to Italy where he begins his real education: both in the world of Art, and that of Hedonism. |
| Biographical Note | Mikhail Kuzmin (1872–1936) was one of the great poets of the Russian Silver Age. |
