The Marquis de CustineтАЩs record of his trip to Russia in 1839 is a brilliantly perceptive, even prophetic, account of one of the worldтАЩs most fascinating and troubled countries. It is also a wonderful piece of travel writing. Custine, who met with people in all walks of life, including the Czar himself, offers vivid descriptions of St. Petersburg and Moscow, of life at court and on the street, and of the impoverished Russian countryside. But together with a wealth of sharply delineated incident and detail, CustineтАЩs great work also presents an indelible pictureтАФroundly denounced by both Czarist and Communist regimesтАФof a country crushed by despotism and тАЬintoxicated with slavery.тАЭ
Letters from Russia, here published in a new edition prepared by Anka Muhlstein, the author of the Goncourt Prize-winning biography of Custine, stands with TocquevilleтАЩs Democracy in America as a profound and passionate encounter with historical forces that are still very much at work in the world today.