THE MASTER AND MARGARITA

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 JeanBaptiste MoliĘre 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.Mikhail Bulgakovs devilish salute to artistic freedom now in a beautiful clothbound editionBulgakov is one of the greatest Russian writers perhaps the greatest IndependentWritten in secret during the darkest days of Stalins reign The Master and Margarita became an overnight literary phenomenon when it was finally published it signalling artistic freedom for Russians everywhere. Bulgakovs 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 loves. Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky with an Introduction by Richard PevearGB