The Private Shevchenko

The Private Shevchenko is not about the Kobzar. It is a book about a medium-height, solidly built, fair-haired, round-faced man. In his youth, he wore magnificent sideburns, later, one child simply called him “the bald uncle.” He liked Lafite, Chikhir, and tea with rum. In short, it is a mini-encyclopedia of Taras Shevchenko’s everyday life: what he ate and drank, what illnesses he suffered from, whom he loved, and where he spent the night.

The book adds a human dimension to the familiar image of Shevchenko as prophet and national genius—and, importantly, it does so with scholarly rigour. You may be surprised by just how much of Shevchenko never made it into the school curriculum.