The Heart of a Dog, Mikhail Bulgakov, 1968, First UK Edition, Satire, HCDJ
$60 · Offered by eBay
First edition
The Heart of a Dog Mikhail Bulgakov 1968 Heart of a Dog is a novella by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. A biting satire of Bolshevism, it was written in 1925 at the height of the New Economic Policy, a period during which communism appeared to be relaxing in the Soviet Union. It is generally interpreted as an allegory of the communist revolution and "the revolution's misguided attempt to radically transform mankind". Its publication was initially prohibited in the Soviet Union, but it circulated in samizdat until it was officially released in the country in 1987. It was almost immediately adapted into a movie, which was aired in late 1988 on First Channel of Soviet Television, was widely praised and attracted many readers to the original Bulgakov text. Since then, the novella has become a cultural phenomenon in Russia, known and discussed by people "from schoolchildren to politicians". It was filmed in Russian and Italian language versions, and was adapted in English as a play and an opera. Background The book was rejected for publication in 1925, due in part to the influence of Lev Kamenev, then a leading Party official. Bulgakov subsequently wrote a play based on the story in 1926 for the Moscow Art Theater. However, the play was cancelled after the manuscript and copies were confiscated by the secret police, or OGPU. Eventually, Maxim Gorky intervened to get the manuscript returned. The story was published in the Soviet Union only in 1987, more than 60 years after its com
- Publisher: Collins and Harvill Press
- Year: 1968
- Binding: Hardcover
- Condition: Very Good
Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.