MLR, 100.3, 2005 891 he never loses sight of these twin objectives illuminating the bigger picture by close attention to the smaller detail. University of Bristol Mike O'Mahony With Shakespeare's Eyes: Pushkin's Creative Appropriation of Shakespeare. By Ca? therine O'Neil. Newark: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated University Presses. 2003. 190 pp. ?34. ISBN 0-87413-821-3. Comparative studies of the works of Pushkin and Shakespeare have historically been a popular area of scholarship, not least because of their analogous positions in their respective cultural traditions. Catherine O'Neil is not deterred by this fact, however, but rather uses it to her advantage in undertaking a thorough review of relevant criti? cism both past and present, as well as offeringsome fresh insights into Shakespearian influences on particular Pushkin works and on Pushkin's literary style in general. One of the most interesting ideas explored by O'Neil is the notion that Shake? spearian influences often acted as 'Pushkin's shield against his other sources, be they other poets or autobiographical subtexts in his work' (p. 10). For example, in the case of Boris Godunov, discussed in the firstchapter, O'Neil considers the significance of references to Julius Caesar. This play was particularly popular in Pushkin's era, as Voltaire used it as a basis for his works La Mort de Cesar and Brute. The republican character of Brutus was increasingly upheld as a heroic figure by the nascent Decembrist conspirators. O'Neil argues that by placing a parody of the key Brutus scenes at the opening of Boris Godunov, 'making Machiavellian schemers out of the lofty republicans his friends found in Shakespeare and Voltaire, Pushkin expresses his distance from the political ideals of his revolutionary friends' (p. 44). In 1826 Pushkin was awarded the dubious honour of having the new tsar,Nicholas, as his personal censor. O'Neil suggests that 'Pushkin saw it as his duty as recipient of the tsar's special grace to try to reach the monarch through his writings' (p. 81). In Chapter 2 she argues that the theme of mercy employed by Pushkin in Andzhelo, The Captain's Daughter, and Poltava, strongly influenced by the parallel theme in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, represents a plea to the Tsar to show mercy on the Decembrist conspirators. She suggests that recurring motifs of women kneeling in supplication to powerful rulers allude to 'the wives, sisters, and mothers of the Decembrists, who flooded the royal palace with petitions for mercy' (p. 92). A very differentautobiographical subtext is explored in the third chapter, which looks at the influence of Shakespeare's Othello. O'Neil suggests that Pushkin was particularly drawn to the character of Othello because of the resonance with his own African ancestry (from his great-grandfather, Abram Gannibal, who worked at the court ofPeter the Great), and translated many of Othello's features into the characters of Ibragim in The Moor of Peter the Great, and Mazepa in Poltava. The character of Desdemona in Othello also provided a model for Pushkin, for example in creating Mazepa's lover Maria. In her discussions of the works outlined above, O'Neil demonstrates an excellent knowledge of her subject area, drawing on a wealth of both primary and secondary sources, demonstrating Pushkin's attitude to Shakespeare in general, his level of knowledge ofparticular Shakespeare works, and his developing literarystyle. At times, however, the book could have benefited from a more critical stance when reviewing secondary material, both to maintain the reader's interest and to provide a fresh viewpoint. The book should appeal to both new and established scholars of Russian literary culture and of Shakespeare, although to appreciate O'Neil's arguments fully 892 Reviews the reader would benefit from a good working knowledge of both the Shakespeare and the Pushkin works in question. University of Bristol Helen Galbraith Imitations of Life: Two Centuries of Melodrama in Russia. Ed. by Louise McReynolds and Joan Neuberger. Durham, NC, and London: Duke University Press. 2002. xii + 34opp. ?15.30. ISBN 0-8223-2790-2. Louise McReynolds and Joan Neuberger have done their readers a great service by gathering together such an interesting collection ofessays...