Turgenev is best known for his masterpiece Fathers and Sons, which explored the generational conflict and the rise of nihilism in 19th-century Russia. His earlier work, A Sportsman's Sketches, is credited with influencing public opinion against serfdom. Unlike his contemporaries Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Turgenev lived much of his life in Western Europe and was a great admirer of Western culture. His writing is noted for its lyrical beauty, psychological nuance, and its objective, almost detached, observation of social change.