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Jan 2020
16h 52m

The Master and Margarita

RITA
About this episode

A 50th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of the incomparable 20th-century  masterpiece of satire and fantasy, in a newly revised version of the  acclaimed Pevear and Volokhonsky translation
 
Nothing in the whole of literature compares with The Master and Margarita. One  spring afternoon, the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake,  weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow. Mikhail Bulgakov’s  fantastical, funny, and devastating satire of Soviet life combines two  distinct yet interwoven parts, one set in contemporary Moscow, the other  in ancient Jerusalem, each brimming with historical, imaginary,  frightful, and wonderful characters. Written during the darkest days of  Stalin’s reign, and finally published in 1966 and 1967, The Master and Margarita became a literary phenomenon, signaling artistic and spiritual freedom for Russians everywhere.

This newly revised translation, by the award-winning team of Pevear and  Volokhonsky, is made from the complete and unabridged Russian text.

For  more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of  classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700  titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works  throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the  series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and  notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as  up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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