The Sentry And Other Stories : Includes the First English Translation of ‘The Lady Macbeth Of the Mzinsk District’ Story

The First UK printing published by John Lane The Bodley Head Limited, London in 1922. The First English translation by A.E. Chamot With an Introduction by Edward Garnett. The BOOK is in Very Good++ condition. A variant binding with blue boards with black lettering. Some light offsetting to the end-papers with some toning and spotting to the fore- and lower text-block. Light dustiness to the upper text-block. Page edges lightly toned due to the quality of the paper stock used. Free from inscriptions and erasures. The scarce WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good+ or better condition. Some loss at the corners and the lower edge of front panel. Some nicks, closed tears, mild creasing and age related markings in places. The striking Marcia Lane Foster wrapper artwork remains vibrant in the Brodart archival cover. The book contains four short stories; 'The Sentry', 'The Lady Macbeth of Mzinsk', 'The Toupee Artist', and 'On the Edge of the World'. The first of Leskov’s works to be published in the UK, followed by 'Cathedral Folk' in 1924 (also John Lane The Bodley Head) and 'The Enchanted Wanderer' in 1927 (Jarrolds). The Sentry was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1923 (A year later than the UK edition). The Introduction is by Edward Garnett. The composer Dmitri Shostakovich composed 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk', Op. 29 an opera in four acts and nine scenes based on Lyeskov's short story 'Lady Macbeth of the Mzinsk District'. The libretto was jointly written by Alexander Preis and the composer. The opera caused huge controversy as Stalin attended Shostakovich's wildly popular avant-garde opera and hated it. Days later, an infamous, unsigned article which appeared in the state newspaper Pravda titled "Muddle Instead of Music." It accused him of playing a "game of clever ingenuity" and warned that if he didn't change, "the game could end very badly." Shostakovich slept with a packed suitcase by the door, expecting the secret police to arrest him. He responded with his Symphony No. 5, famously subtitled 'A Soviet artist’s creative reply to just criticism.'. Marcia Lane Foster provides the illustration for the wrapper and the header for the first story. 'Nikolai Leskov was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' (1865); 'The Cathedral Folk' (1872); 'The Enchanted Wanderer' (1873); and 'The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula' and the 'Steel Flea' (1881)'. (Wiki). Very scarce with the wrapper. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.…