Each of us in childhood read or watched the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse", but what do we know about its author, who is P. P. Ershov? The biography of this person is not known to many. Moreover, some consider this folk tale. This article is dedicated to who the author of the famous work was and in what years.
Childhood
Petr Pavlovich Ershov was born in the village of Bezrukovo, Tobolsk province. His father was a petty official, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The future writer was born very weak and was ill a lot. But time passed, the boy got stronger, and the family often moved because of the work of his father. However, in 1827 it became clear that it was time to send the children to school, and Peter and Nikolai entered the Tobolsk gymnasium.
Gymnasium at this time is led by Ivan Mendeleev, father of the famous chemist, he takes patronage of Peter. Largely thanks to such a mentor in 1831 he graduated from high school with honors P.P. Ershov.
The biography of the writer is also interesting because Ershov himself was a versatile person. Already in his youth, he knew how to play the flute and harpsichord, and also was engaged in collecting local legends and legends, which he recorded and stored.
Adolescence
In the same 1831, Pavel Ershov sought his transfer to St. Petersburg. Thanks to the patronage of the governor of Siberia, the Ershov family is in North Palmyra.
The architectural splendor of St. Petersburg on young Ershov made a huge impression. In addition, this city gave him a lot of acquaintances, which later played a big role in the life of the writer.
Upon arrival, Ershov submits documents to the Imperial University at the Faculty of History and Philology. But due to poor knowledge of European languages, it is accepted only for philosophical and legal. At university, he did not differ in diligence and was very negligent in his studies, as P. P. Ershov himself claimed.
The biography of the writer is also numerous losses. So, in 1833 his father died, and soon his older brother. Pyotr Pavlovich remains with his sick mother. The financial situation of the family is greatly deteriorating.
At the same time, in his student years, the first part of the famous "Humpbacked Horse" was written. The tale was published in 1834 in the journal "Library for reading." In the same year she came out as a separate publication, including all three parts. Ershov P.P. (whose biography became the topic of our article) was then a nineteen-year-old boy.
In the years of St. Petersburg, the writer was seriously interested in theater and opera. The reason for this is his love of music, handed down from childhood.
Inspired by success, Ershov continues to write and publish. So, two plays (“Thomas the Blacksmith” and “Suvorov and the Station Warden”), as well as a number of poems, come out from under his pen.
Due to the deplorable financial situation in 1836, Ershov petitioned for the position of teacher and went to Tobolsk.
Return to Tobolsk
So, Peter Pavlovich Ershov returns to work in his native gymnasium, whose biography is not at all as brilliant as the fate of his famous fairy tale. He teaches Latin, literature, and philosophy. The then director, E. M. Kachurin, in every possible way annoyed a celebrity who came from St. Petersburg.
In 1839, Ershov marries a widow with four children, Serafima Aleksandrovna Leshcheva. The young teacher waited a long time for her consent to marriage. From this moment, the main thing in the life of a writer becomes making money to feed a large family.
Far from happy was the fate of Ershov, he lost many loved ones. Having lost his father, brother and mother in his youth, in his mature years he buried two wives, and out of 15 of his children only four survived to adulthood.
However, all the suffering that fell to his lot was humbly accepted by P. Ershov. A brief biography of this man could be represented only by a list of losses. Like a true Christian, the poet did not complain and did not fall into despair. Moreover, he managed to engage in creativity. So, the poem “Suzge”, the true story “Siberian Cossack”, the stories “Autumn Evenings” and several poems saw the light of day.
The last years of his life passed in relative calm. Pyotr Pavlovich died in 1869 and was buried in Tobolsk at the Zavalny cemetery.
Interesting Facts
Ershov Petr Pavlovich experienced many amazing events, whose biography without mentioning even the most interesting of them would be incomplete.
As noted above, in his childhood, the writer was very ill. And once, when the condition of the child completely worsened, desperate parents ventured to perform a magical rite. It looked like this: a child was sold for a penny to a beggar, who, according to popular belief, took away all his illnesses and sorrows. On this occasion, in his mature years, Ershov joked that he knew for certain his price - a penny.
During his life in Siberia, Ershov was the patron of Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, a famous scientist. Since the father of the boy died when the child was only 13 years old, Dmitry needed a mentor. And it was P. Ershov who helped Mendeleev to enter St. Petersburg Pedagogical University.
A biography for the children of this writer could be collected only from amazing and noteworthy cases, which were many in his life.
Tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse"
The history of this work is very unusual. One of Yershov’s teachers at the university was Pletnev, Pushkin’s great friend. Once he instructed students to write a work on folk art. The writing of the young writer shocked Pletnev, and he even read the passage in the lecture. This manuscript was the first part of The Humpbacked Horse. The tale was shown to Pushkin, who responded about it with great enthusiasm.
A connoisseur of the folk language and folklore was P. Ershov, whose biography largely contributed to this. It is the legends and legends collected in youth that were spent in Siberia that formed the basis of the work.
The tale was written in verse and told of the youngest of three sons, who were entrusted with the task of protecting the fields from an unknown thief at night.
Conclusion
A difficult, but interesting and eventful life was lived by P.P. Ershov, whose biography was considered in the article. Unfortunately, apart from the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse", not a single work of the writer was successful with the public. And the complete works of Ershov came out only in 2005.