Bulgakov: Six Plays

Mikhail Bulgakov may best be known in America as a novelist, but is also one of Russia's greatest playwrights of the 20th century -- in a class with Anton Chekhov. This volume is an excellent English language translation of six of his plays from the British publisher Methuen. These plays range from drama set during the period of the Russian civil war to drama of relationships and character, and though written before 1940 none of the plays seemed dated to me. From my own searches this is evidently the only English translation of all of these plays in one volume. So, if, like me, you liked Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" (and are not fluent in Russian) you can expect to enjoy this translation of his plays. Bulgakov: Six Plays (World Classics)

A selection of plays by the great Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov. Best known in the USA as the author of the novel The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov was a successful playwright until he ran afoul of censorship under Stalin. This selection opens with The White Guard, a sympathetic depiction of opponents of the Bolsheviks that Bulgakov adapted from his own novel of the same name. This popular play inaugurated Bulgakov's career as a playwright. Madame Zoyka, Flight, Moliere, Adam and Eve, and The Last Days are other plays in this collection. Much of Bulgakov's work reflects his engagement with and criticism of the Soviet State. Madame Zoyka is a satirical look at the NEP (New Economic Policy), Flight is a combined satire and sympathetic portrayal of emigres from the Soviet Union, Moliere and The Last Days (based on the life of Pushkin) are about artists trapped within autocratic political systems, and Adam and Eve is a kind of satirical science fiction fantasy reminescent of the later Shaw or Capek. Bulgakov is clearly an effective playwright with a talent for witty dialogue and staging. The best of these plays is Moliere, an imaginative and smartly constructed allegory of Bulgakov's own life.