[SOLZHENITSYN IN SAMIZDAT] Rakovyi korpus [The Cancer Ward]. Samizdat edition.

Solzhenitsyn, A[leksandr] I[ssaevich].

About this Item

[Moscow, ca. late 1970s]. Quarto (31 × 22 cm). Original blue stab-sewn buckram binding with hand-written label to front board; 235 pp. of original and carbon copy typescript to rectos and versos (in black and red ink), from at least two different sources (differences in type). Occasional corrections in ink. Table of contents leaf soiled; else very good. Attractive samizdat edition of Solzhenitsyn's "Cancer Ward" (Rakovyi korpus), completed in 1966 and circulating in unpublished form both in the Soviet Union and abroad, where it was first printed in 1968. Solzhenitsyn's first novel dealing with Stalinist repression, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" was published in 1962 in the literary journal "Novy Mir" and caused a sensation in Soviet society recovering from Stalinism. "Cancer Ward", which is based on the author's own cancer treatment, and uses the cancer ward as a metaphore for the "condition" of the Soviet society, was also initially approved for publication in the same journal. However, by 1966 the tide of loosened censorship had turned and the novel was ultimately rejected. Solzhenitsyn continued, in vain, to try to publish the work in the Soviet Union, in order to prevent its circulation in fragments and unauthorized versions, but ultimately failed. This copy comes from the collection of Viktor Vladimirovich Redin (born 1934), a collector in Moscow, who was best known for amassing a huge collection of original photo and audio-documents of the Soviet ?bard? musical culture of the 1960-80s. Since the late 1950s, he devoted himself almost entirely to recording performances of bards. This printed samizdat was most likely created in Moscow, possibly by Redin or by a friend of his, presumably in the late 1970s, but possibly somewhat earlier. The text reveals slight differences compared to the authoritative published version of Solzhenitsyn?s novel. Seller Inventory # P5973

Bibliographic Details

Title: [SOLZHENITSYN IN SAMIZDAT] Rakovyi korpus [...

Binding: Soft cover