Book excerpt: This text examines the tradition of familiar letter writing that developed in the early 1800s among the Arzamasians, a literary circle that included such luminaries as Pushkin, Karamzin and Turgenev, and argues that these letters constitute a distinct literary genre. Todd gives a thorough prehistory of the convention of correspondence and concentrates on the themes, strategies, and autobiographical functions of the letter for several master writers in Pushkin's time. It is written in an accessible style with translations, an annotated list of the Arzamasians, and an extensive index and a bibliography.