On the Eve Author:Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Gilbert Gardiner (Translator) Set in 1853, On the Eve is a novel about a young Russian woman from an aristocratic family, Elena, who falls in love with a Bulgarian revolutionary, Insarov, on the eve of the Crimean War. — Though essentially a love story with a historical background, On the Eve hints in its title at social and political implications which no Russ... more »ian reader could miss when it appeared in 1859. Turgenev's study of Elena Stahov, in love with a Bulgarian revolutionary, is a memorable achievement of character-drawing, but the authors artistry is nowhere more clearly shown than in his development of the minor characters. Turgenev's touch is light and his sense of humour delicious, and the story, as it moves to its inevitable and tragic conclusion, is never oppressive.« less