The Tales of Ivan Belkin, 1954 edition, by Alexander Pushkin.

Written by Alexander Pushkin. Translated by Ivy and Tatiana Litvinov. Illustrated by D. A. Shmarinov. Designed by S. M. Pozharsky. First published in 1831. This edition published in 1954. Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow.

Blizzard

"Towards the end of the year 1811, that never-to-be-forgotten period of our history, there lived in his estate of Nenaradovo the worthy Gavrila Gavrilovich R. He was known through the district for his hospitality and kindliness; neighbours visited him incessantly, to eat, drink and play Boston for five-kopek stakes with his wife, while some came to look at their daughter Marya Gavrilovna, a maiden who was pale, slender and seventeen. She was considered a good match, and there were many who hoped to win her for themselves or their sons."

The Tales of Ivan Belkin (originally titled The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin edited by A. P.) is a collection of five short stories and a fictional editorial introduction by the Russian author. The stories are said to be told by various people to a recently deceased landowner, Ivan Petrovich Belkin, who was fond of collecting and hearing stories. The stories are not related to each other, but they all reflect different aspects of Russian life and culture in the early 19th century. The stories are: The Shot, The Blizzard, The Undertaker, The Postmaster and The Squire's Daughter. Pushkin pretends to be the publisher of Belkin's tales and provides some biographical details about him in the introduction.

Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was a Russian poet, novelist, dramatist and short-story writer who is widely regarded as the founder of modern Russian literature and the greatest Russian poet of all time. He wrote his first poem at age 15, and wrote in various genres and forms, including lyric poetry, narrative poetry, historical drama, novel in verse and prose fiction. Some of his most famous works include Eugene Onegin, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades and The Bronze Horseman. He also contributed to the development of the Russian language by introducing new words and expressions from colloquial speech and folk culture. He died at the age of 37 after being wounded in a duel with a French officer over his wife's honor.

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Condition*: Near Fine/Very Good. Dust jacket: Moderate shelf wear; creased at head of the spine; corners lightly bumped. Black, gold, light blue embossed blue cloth cover boards. Top of textblock stained blue. Name and address of previous owner, language unknown, on back fly leaf. Pages are clean, complete, and undamaged.