"We are grateful to Mr. Duff for translating for the first time into English this remarkable book. 'Years of Childhood' becomes the more fascinating the more one reads and thinks about it. Aksakoff read a new and ecstatic meaning into things which are banal and tame to most men and women, and the eager eye of his mind scanned deep into the lives and loves of the people round about him."—Morning Post.
"Serge Aksakoff holds a distinct and, one might say, delightful position in Russian literature. He placed himself, almost without an effort, in the ranks of the great masters of his nation by instinctively obeying the precept that men of letters should look in their own hearts and write. One can hardly thank the translator sufficiently for this first rendering of the book in any other language than Russian."—The Times.
"English readers may well be grateful to Mr. J. D. Duff for his translation of a very unusual book. He promises us a translation of 'A Family History,' which carries on the narrative of Aksakoff's life and gives some account of his family. In the original the two make one book, and all who read this first instalment will welcome the completion of it."—Spectator.
"A book of rare charm."—Observer.
"Mr. Duff, with this admirable rendering, has unearthed a treasure for the English reader. Let us hope that the other portion of these memoirs will appear without delay. For this is Russia herself—convincingly real and intimate." —English Review.
"Apart from its great artistic value, Aksakoff's work has the attractiveness that belongs to all origins. What Mr. Maurice Baring once said, that the story of Aksakoff's memoirs is as vivid and interesting as any novel, is quite true. And it is not only true but remarkable; for reminiscences, especially of childhood, do not usually have the sort of interest that a novel has, however vivid they may be.... The fact is, Aksakoff succeeded in solving perhaps the hardest problem in literature,—the problem of working a child's consciousness as a medium for all it is worth. The book has, for us, this advantage over the other major works of Russian literature, that it has found in Mr. Duff a translator who is not only a scholar, but an artist skilful enough never to force the note for a moment." —New Statesman.
"A charming Russian book. At this time when so many translations from the Russian are appearing, well advised and ill advised, it is good to be able to put the hand on one superlatively good book. Here is a refreshment for tired eyes and tired souls. It is put into beautiful English, and the book can be read aloud with much profit and pleasure."—Country Life.
"Of an extraordinary richness and novelty."—Westminster Gazette.
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD