Elizaveta Beketova was born in 1834 in Orenburg. In 1854 she marries Andrey Nikolaevich Beketov – “father of Russian botany”, author of wonderful science books, scientist and public figure, initiator of the Higher Women’s Courses in Russia, and a member of many academies.
Elizaveta Grigorevna Beketova is the daughter of the geographer, traveler, and explorer of Central Asia Grigory Silich Karelin.
Elisaveta Grigorievna Beketova has made a remarkable contribution to Russian literature, as a gifted translator fluent in several languages.
Her love for literature and understanding of its high importance are inherited by her three daughters Beketov. The eldest Catherine is also known as a translator and author of short stories and poems. The middle one – Alexandra Beketova (mother of Alexander Block), translates from French and writes poetry. The youngest, Maria, translates popular science biographical, geographical, and historical books, and later writes a book about Alexander Block and his family.
Elisaveta Grigorievna Beketova is engaged in translation since 1850. Her first major publications are the translations of the novels “La Daniela” by George Sand, and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Beecher Stow; “Mary Barton” by E. Gaskell, ” The Voyage of the Beagle ” by Charles Darwin, and many others.
She is involved as an initiator and active participant in the publishing artel.
She becomes active in translation in the 1890s. She publishes in the appendix of the “Journal of Foreign Literature”, edited by Anna Engelgardt, the books “In Darkest Africa” by G. Stanley / 1892 / and “My Dark Companions: And Their Strange Stories” / 1894 /, the novel “Sydney“ by M. Deland / 1895 /. For the issue of G.F. Panteleeva, she translates the works of Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, Oliver Goldsmith, William Thackeray, Guy de Maupassant, and Gustave Flaubert[1].
She dies on October 14, 1902, in St. Petersburg.
[1] Бекетова, Елизавета Григорьевна // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — СПб., 1905. — Т. доп. I. — С. 237.;Бекетова, Елизавета Григорьевна // Краткая литературная энциклопедия / Гл. ред. А. А. Сурков. — М.: Советская энциклопедия, 1962. — Т. 1.[ Beketova, Elizaveta Grigorievna // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additions). – SPb., 1905. – T. dop. I. – P. 237.; Beketova, Elizaveta Grigorievna // Brief literary encyclopedia / Ch. ed. AA Surkov. – M .: Soviet encyclopedia, 1962. – Vol. 1.].