'Bulgakov is one of the greatest Russian writers,
perhaps the greatest' Independent
Written in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign, The Master
and Margarita became an overnight literary phenomenon when it was
finally published it, signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere.
Bulgakov's carnivalesque satire of Soviet life describes how the Devil,
trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into
Moscow one Spring afternoon. Brimming with magic and incident, it is full of
imaginary, historical, terrifying and wonderful characters, from witches, poets
and Biblical tyrants to the beautiful, courageous Margarita, who will do anything
to save the imprisoned writer she love
About the Author
Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kiev in May 1891. His
sympathetic portrayal of White characters in his stories, in the plays The Days
of the Turbins (The White Guard), which enjoyed great success at the Moscow
Arts Theatre in 1926, and Flight (1927), and his satirical treatment of the
officials of the New Economic Plan, led to growing criticism, which became
violent after the play The Purple Island. He also wrote a brilliant biography
of his literary hero, Jean-Baptiste Molière, but The Master and Margarita is
generally considered his masterpiece. Fame, at home and abroad, was not to come
until a quarter of a century after his death at Moscow in 1940.
Larissa Volokhonsky, along with her husband Richard Pevear, has translated
works by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov and Pasternak. They both
were twice awarded the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize (for
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Tolstoy's Anna
Karenina). They are married and live in France.
Richard Pevear, along with his wife Larissa Volokhonsky, has translated
works by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov and Pasternak. They both
were twice awarded the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize (for
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Tolstoy's Anna
Karenina). They are married and live in France.
