Novels: A desperate character, and other stories

A Desperate Character and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction by the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, first published posthumously in 1899. The volume was part of the uniform edition of Turgenev's works translated by Constance Garnett, whose extensive translations were instrumental in introducing Russian literature to the English-speaking world during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The collection reflects Turgenev’s late-career interest in psychological nuance and the lingering themes of the Russian provincial experience. Garnett’s translation style, while occasionally criticized by later scholars for its Victorian polish, was highly regarded at the time for capturing the lyrical melancholy of Turgenev’s prose. The work remains a significant artifact of the turn-of-the-century literary era, demonstrating the sustained international demand for Turgenev’s character-driven narratives.