Russian accent: investment in footbal

[Robert Orr]

 Not just P G Wodehouse.  (sorry for the delay in this post).  In Dorothy
Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novel "Have his Carcase", the murder victim is a
Russian who may have committed suicide (not to spoil the plot).  The coroner
at the inquest (it may not have been him, quoting from memory here, but
someone at the inquest does) comes out with a lot of stuff about that
"unhappy country", etc. etc., and says that he has read Russian novels, not
surprising it was a suicide, etc. etc.  

The initimable Auberon Waugh ha smore somewhere on the same topic ....



"Having given the matter some further thought, I am coming round to the view
that the origins of this perception regarding Russian literature have
nothing directly to do with either Tolstoy or Dostoevsky.  I think that part
of the answer is contained in Jules Levin's e-mail: the Gershwin song refers
specifically to a Russian play; I have a vague recollection (which perhaps
someone can confirm or otherwise) that there is a similar reference to
Russian plays in P.G. Wodehouse.  I suspect that the perception owes a great
deal to turn-of-the century Russian drama, and as a starting point for
further enquiries I would single out two plays in particular, namely
Chekhov's 'Seagull' and Gor'ky's 'The Lower Depths'.  

John Dunn."

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