Elena Ilyina is the sister of the famous writer Samuil Marshak. She wrote many stories for children of different ages. "The Fourth Height" is one of the few works that has been filmed.
Elena Ilyina is a children's writer, sister of Samuil Marshak. Became famous thanks to the book "The Fourth Height". She spent many years in hard labor, which affected her health. Feature films have been shot based on some books.
Biography
Elena Ilyina was born on June 29, 1091 in Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh province. Real name - Leah Yakovlevna Preis, nee - Marshak. The family descended from Talmudic ancestors, in particular from Aharon Shmuel ben Israel Koydanover. If you add the first letters, you get MAHARSHAK.
Father - Yakov Mironovich Marshak - a native of Koydanov, worked as a foreman at the Mikhailov brothers' soap factory. Work in small factories did not satisfy all the needs of a man who independently comprehended the basics of chemistry and was constantly engaged in various experiments. In search of a better life, my father constantly moved from city to city until he found a business to his liking in St. Petersburg.
Mom - Evgeny Borisovna Gitelson. She was a native of Vitebsk, did not work anywhere, was engaged in raising children. In addition to Samuel, Leah had another brother, Ilya (M. Ilyin), who was one of the founders of popular science literature.
Elena studied at the gymnasium, where the teacher of literature instilled in children a love of classical prose and poetry, in every possible way encouraged the first literary experiments of his pupils. During the years of the struggle against Hitler's Nazism, the family was constantly under the supervision of the KGB.
Mom died when the girl was 16 years old. Samuel left the family quite early, so she lived with her brother Ilya during her early years. They lived like a student, very modestly. All the money had to be given to the landlady. There was practically nothing left for other expenses. Ilya believed that things were not so bad.
After graduation, he entered the plant. Thanks to the salary, life slowly began to melt. In his memoirs, the brother noted: when the parents died, and the older brothers and sisters got their own families, Leah and Ilya had a feeling of loneliness, which brought them closer together.
Liya Yakovlevna graduated from the verbal department of the Leningrad Institute of Art History in 1926 in 1926. However, her debut as a writer took place a year earlier, when the story "The House Manager's Print" was published in New Robinson magazine. Modest fees were barely enough for life, thanks to her knowledge of several foreign languages, Leah began to engage in translations. The personal life of the writer was arranged. The husband was the historian I. I. Preis (1892-1968). The wife and husband lived together until their death.
Creation
The first full-fledged book "Tours on Wheels" was published immediately after the publication of the story in the magazine. In subsequent years, works were published in magazines such as:
- "Hedgehog";
- "Chizh";
- "Bonfire";
- "Pioneer";
- "Murzilka".
You could get acquainted with them in albums, calendars for children. Elena Yakovlevna has published books for preschoolers, as well as middle and senior schoolchildren. The collection for kids “Katya had a birthday” was very popular, in which the poems “I don’t like crying in vain”, “About Masha and Natasha” were especially memorable. Readers also fell in love with the collection of fairy tales, published for younger schoolchildren: "Noise and Noise". It published fairy tales:
- "An old primer and a new book";
- "Drive stick";
- "Chik-chik with scissors" and others.
- She also published a series of books "My First Book".
Among the works one could also find serious ones. For example, "This is my school." Originally the story was called Always Ready. She talked about schoolchildren in the fifties. Another documentary story was the work “The Tireless Traveler. Childhood, youth and early years of Karl Marx. " It describes how K. Marx grew up, comprehended science, became a great scientist and creator.
Many works by Elena Ilyina have become a bibliographic rarity. The only place where you can get acquainted with them now is the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg.
Book dedicated to the blessed memory of Samuil Marshak
Elena noted that her brother was her friend and teacher. Therefore, she was very upset by his death. The book "The Fourth Height" was visited by a girl whom Elena knew as a child. A story about Gulya Koroleva, about her exploits at the front during the Patriotic War. The author drew information from the stories of her parents, teachers, counselors and girlfriends. It is based on letters by the Queen, written in between battles.
Many readers got acquainted with the work as a child. It was this book that was read with a "flashlight under the covers." Based on the book in 1978, the film "The Fourth Height" was filmed by director Igor Voznesensky. The roles were played by Margarita Sergeecheva, Olga Ageeva, Larisa Luzhina.
The style of Elena Ilyina's works was varied, it corresponded to the age group to which the stories were addressed. The writer has always strived for a serious conversation, even with young readers. She sought to interest them in the events and phenomena of the surrounding life.
During the years of Stalinist repressions, Elena Ilyina was among the enemies of the people, which is why she spent many years in prisons. The writer's life ended on November 2, 1964. Elena was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery next to her husband.
