Michail Bulgakow Book order

Set against the backdrop of the Ukrainian War of Independence, this novel follows a Kyiv family navigating the chaos and turmoil of their time. Mikhail Bulgakov, known for his multifaceted career as a writer and medical doctor, weaves a compelling narrative that explores themes of loyalty, conflict, and the impact of war on personal lives. First published in 1925, it reflects the historical complexities of early 20th-century Ukraine through rich character development and vivid storytelling.

New translations of two poignant and controversial plays by Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov.

Charts the life of the French playwright - Moliere - from humble beginnings to later theatrical triumphs and political controversies.

The career of Mikhail Bulgakov, the author of Master and Margarita - now regarded as one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century literature - was characterized by a constant and largely unsuccessful struggle against state censorship. This suppression did not only apply to his art: in 1926 his personal diary was seized by the authorities. From then on he confined his thoughts to letters to his friends and family, as well as to public figures such as Stalin and his fellow Soviet writer Gorky, while also encouraging his wife Yelena to keep a diary, with many entries influenced or even dictated by him. This ample selection from the diaries and letters of the Bulgakovs, mostly translated for the first time into English, provides an insightful glimpse into a fascinating period of Russian history and literature, telling the tragic tale of the fate of an artist under a totalitarian regime.

"There is absolutely no necessity to learn how to read; meat smells a mile off, anyway. Nevertheless, if you live in Moscow and have a brain in your head, you'll pick up reading willy-nilly, and without attending any courses. Out of the forty thousand or so Moscow dogs, only a total idiot won't know how to read the word 'sausage'." When a stray dog dying on the streets of Moscow is taken in by a wealthy professor, he is subjected to medical experiments in which he receives various transplants of human organs. As he begins to transform into a rowdy, unkempt human by the name of Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov, his actions distress the professor and those surrounding him, although he finds himself accepted into the ranks of the Soviet state. A parodic reworking of the Frankenstein myth and a vicious satire of the Communist revolution and the concept of the New Soviet man, A Dog's Heart was banned by the censors in 1925 and circulated only in samizdat form. Nowadays this hugely entertaining tale has become very popular in Russia, and has inspired many adaptations across the world.

When Soviet censors approved Mikhail Bulgakov's Дон Кихот, a stage adaptation of Don Quixote, they were unaware that they were sanctioning a subtle but powerful criticism of Stalinist rule. The author, whose novel Мастер и Маргарита would eventually bring him world renown, achieved this sleight of hand through a deft interpretation of Cervantes's knight. Bulgakov's Don Quixote fits comfortably into the nineteenth-century Russian tradition of idealistic, troubled intellectuals, but Quixote's quest becomes an allegory of the artist under the strictures of Stalin's regime. Bulgakov did not live to see the play performed: it went into production in 1940, only months after his death.The volume's introduction provides background for Bulgakov's adaptation and compares Bulgakov with Cervantes and the twentieth-century Russian work with the seventeenth-century Spanish work.

Mikhail Bulgakov's stage adaptation of Don Quixote serves as a nuanced critique of Stalinist rule, cleverly disguised under the approval of Soviet censors. The introduction offers insightful context about Bulgakov's work, drawing parallels between his interpretation and Cervantes' original, while also exploring the contrasts between the two eras. This analysis enriches the reader's understanding of the adaptation's deeper themes and its place within both Russian literature and historical commentary.

Stylistically brilliant and brimming with humour and literary allusion, Notes on a Cuff is presented here in a new translation, along with a collection of other short pieces by Bulgakov, many of them - such as 'The Cockroach' and 'A Dissolute Man' - published for the first time in the English language.

From the author of The Master and Margarita comes this short and tragic masterpiece about drug addiction Young Dr. Bromgard has come to a small country town to assume a new practice. No sooner has he arrived than he receives word that a colleague, Dr. Polyakov, has fallen gravely ill. Before Bromgard can go to his friend’s aid, Polyakov is brought to his practice in the middle of the night with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and, barely conscious, gives Bromgard his journal before dying. What Bromgard uncovers in the entries is Polyakov’s uncontrollable and merciless descent into morphine addiction — his first injection to ease his back pain, the thrill of the drug as it overtakes him, the looming signs of addiction, and the feverish final entries before his death.

Anthology of 11 stories by writers mostly of the post-Revolutionary period, including V. Bryusov, M. Bulgakov, A. Grin, S. Krzhizhanovsky, A. Chayanov et al., using a forbidden genre to explore the dark underside of the machine age and the new political order. First English translations (exc. Bryusov's In the Mirror and Bulgakov's Red Crown).