![BABEL, Isaak Emmanuilovich (1894-1940). Konarmiia. [Red Cavalry.] Moscow and St Petersburg: Gosudrastvennoe Izdatel'stvo, 1926.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/CKS/2018_CKS_17162_0114_000(babel_isaak_emmanuilovich_konarmiia_red_cavalry_moscow_and_st_petersbu105804).jpg?w=1)
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BABEL, Isaak Emmanuilovich (1894-1940). Konarmiia. [Red Cavalry.] Moscow and St Petersburg: Gosudrastvennoe Izdatel'stvo, 1926.
The first edition of 'the first true masterpiece of Russia's post-Revolutionary prose fiction' (Freidin). Red Cavalry was an instant success, which met with near universal acclaim and established Babel's reputation internationally. Marshall Semyon Budyonny was enraged by Babel's account of Budyonny's cavalry, but Maxim Gorky's protection ensured that Babel's book could be published unmolested. Stalin, to whom Budyonny was closely allied, eventually ordered Babel's torture and execution. Babel 'was, perhaps, the first Soviet prose writer to achieve a truly stellar stature in Russia, to enjoy a wide-ranging international reputation as a grand master of the short story, and to continue to influence—directly through his own work as well as through criticism and scholarship— literature produced in our own day' (Freidin). RBH and ABPC record only one copy having been offered at auction. Freidin, 'Isaac Babel (1894-1940)', in European Writers: The Twentieth Century, p.1885.
Octavo (208 x 142mm, with deckle edges). (Margins lightly yellowed; occasional light soiling; occasional pencil underlining.) Original illustrated wrappers printed in red and black (rebacked; small repairs; small stain on the front cover); custom grey cloth clamshell case.
The first edition of 'the first true masterpiece of Russia's post-Revolutionary prose fiction' (Freidin). Red Cavalry was an instant success, which met with near universal acclaim and established Babel's reputation internationally. Marshall Semyon Budyonny was enraged by Babel's account of Budyonny's cavalry, but Maxim Gorky's protection ensured that Babel's book could be published unmolested. Stalin, to whom Budyonny was closely allied, eventually ordered Babel's torture and execution. Babel 'was, perhaps, the first Soviet prose writer to achieve a truly stellar stature in Russia, to enjoy a wide-ranging international reputation as a grand master of the short story, and to continue to influence—directly through his own work as well as through criticism and scholarship— literature produced in our own day' (Freidin). RBH and ABPC record only one copy having been offered at auction. Freidin, 'Isaac Babel (1894-1940)', in European Writers: The Twentieth Century, p.1885.
Octavo (208 x 142mm, with deckle edges). (Margins lightly yellowed; occasional light soiling; occasional pencil underlining.) Original illustrated wrappers printed in red and black (rebacked; small repairs; small stain on the front cover); custom grey cloth clamshell case.
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