Open AccessAn African Episode in the Life of Pushkinʼs Granddaughter (E. A. Rosen-Meyer)
Author(s) -
Boris Gorelik,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
vremennik puškinskoj komissii
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0236-2481
DOI - 10.31860/0236-2481-2022-36-169-177
Subject(s) - wife , estate , possession (linguistics) , parliament , genealogy , history , negotiation , sociology , politics , law , political science , philosophy , linguistics
The circumstances and reasons for the departure of A. Pushkinʼs granddaughter, Elena Alexandrovna Rosen-Meyer, from Turkey to South Africa in 1923, after failed negotiations over the sale of Pushkinʼs personal items to A. Onegin and M. Gofman, remain unclear. Documents at the National Archives of South Africa, as well as materials, testimonies and literature related to persons involved in this move indicate that the Rosen-Meyer family went to Africa on the recommendation of Pushkinʼs descendants in England. Thanks to the connections of Sir Harold Wernher and his wife, Anastasia Mikhailovna (Lady Zia), a job was found for Rosen-Meyerʼs husband with a business associate of the Wernher family. A prominent South African businessman and member of parliament, Sir Abe Bailey, off ered a position to N. Rosen-Meyer at his estate “Rust-en-Vrede” in the town of Muizenberg; Bailey would hold informal meetings with leading South African politicians and public fi gures at Rust-enVrede. The Pushkin items seen by Gofman at Rosen-Meyerʼs home before her departure from Turkey remained in her possession on her return from South Africa in the late 1920s.