The Brothers Karamazov

DOSTOEVSKY, Fyodor; translated by Constance Garnett; [Hugh Walpole's copy]

Verlag: William Heinemann, London, 1917

Octavo, 838pp. Sixth printing of the first English language edition. A very good copy in the publisher's red cloth, stamped in blind on the front board, with gilt spine. Gilt dulled, corners gently rounded, and a bump to the base of the front outer joint. Inner hinges strong, and the contents clean, though the paper is evenly age-toned due to the poor quality. An early printing of the Garnett translation, an important effort which introduced this extraordinary, enduring novel to the English-speaking world. HUGH WALPOLE'S COPY, with his armorial bookplate on the front paste-down. In an article entitled "Hugh Walpole" by J. B. Priestley, published in the September 1928 issue of "The English Journal," Priestley makes much of Dostoevsky's influence on Walpole's writing: "In [Walpole's stronger novels] we find what I have called the Dostoievsky motive. When we read them we understand why their author thinks 'The Brothers Karamazov' the greatest novel in the world. He spent some time in Russia during [World War I], and two of his novels, 'The Dark Forest' and 'The Secret City,' are not only Russian in subject, but are Russian in manner. [.] [This "Dostoievsky motive"] makes him [Walpole] see this life against a vast cloudy background of warring good and evil. I know of no contemporary English (or American) novelist who is more deeply concerned with this central conflict." (Priestley, J. B. "Hugh Walpole." The English Journal 17, no. 7 (1928): 529-36. https://doi. org/10.2307/803829). Walpole lived in Russia during the events of the February Revolution in early 1917, and soon began writing "The Secret City." He no doubt obtained this volume (printed in 1917) around this time, and, though there are no markings within, it is tempting to envision Walpole absorbing Dostoevsky's epic novel as he begins to flesh out his own work. An uncommon early printing of this important translation, with most appealing provenance. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 11608

Bibliografische Details

Titel: The Brothers Karamazov
Verlag: William Heinemann, London
Erscheinungsdatum: 1917
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand: Very good-
Auflage: Sixth printing.