The Childhood of Nikita

The story "The Childhood of Nikita" was dedicated by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy to his son, whose growth he observed with the attention of a writer and the love of a father. In small chapters, an entire year of a ten-year-old... boy's life is encapsulated, spent at the ancestral estate. The details of rural life, the organization of a measured noble lifestyle, and everyday concerns intertwine with the description of the child's inner world, his interests, experiences, and thoughts. The first love, a quarrel with a friend, the fear of failure, and the delight of first victories are conveyed so subtly, accurately, and lovingly that it seems the world of this noble boy from the last century is no different from the world of his modern peers. The artist Alexei Pakhomov also shares a great love for childhood. The tender yet distinct children in his drawings dream, get angry, discover new things, and draw the reader along with them.