I saw this review on Amazon and wondered how you would respond: "This version does not include several pages on Alexei's dream (see translation by Michael Glenny in Lesley Milne's book on Bulgakov). It also does not say who the translator is or the date of original publication (the copyright page is missing), but I guess it's the 1971 edition, which is the one Milne says deleted the dream sequence. There's nothing there but an ellipsis -- no explanation of mention that something has been deleted. The Russian text has the whole thing."
Interesting. Here’s a pertinent paragraph from the extra material section in Roger Cockrell’s translation:
“The White Guard, was written between 1922 and 1924, but it received numerous substantial revisions later. It was originally conceived as the first volume of a trilogy portraying the entire sweep of the post-revolutionary Civil War from a number of different points of view. Although this first and only volume was criticized for showing events from the viewpoint of the Whites, the third volume would apparently have given the perspective of the Communists. Many chapters of the novel were published separately in literary journals as they appeared. The ending—the dreams presaging disaster for the country—never appeared, because the journal it was due to be printed in, Rossiya, was shut down by official order, precisely because it was publishing such material as Bulgakov's. Different pirate versions, with radically variant texts and concocted endings, appeared abroad. The novel only appeared complete in Russian, having been proofread by the author, in 1929 in Paris, where there was a substantial émigré population from the Tsarist Empire/USSR.”
I also have a question about the missing texts. From what I understand, the 1966 first Russian edition was truncated in several places, and the final chapter was missing entirely. That last chapter was first published in 1988 (!) in the magazine Novy Mir.
My Hungarian translation is based on the 1966 edition, so I can only read the censored version. Could you include all the missing sections in English when we read? Or would that be too complicated? I will also try to find a complete Hungarian version, though I’m not sure one even exists.
Interesting question. I don’t know about including the missing chunks in full in case that’s a copyright violation. I could certainly highlight them though if and when I find them.
I just read this is the extra material section of Roger Cockrell’s translation:
“ It is difficult to give an overall survey of Bulgakov's works, which, counting short stories and adaptations, approach a total of almost one hundred. Many of these works exist in several versions, as the author revised them constantly to make them more acceptable to the authorities. This meant that published versions - including translations brought out abroad - were frequently not based on what the author might have considered the "definitive" version. In fact to talk of "definitive ver sions" with reference to Bulgakov's works may be misleading.”
Thank you so much for your reply! I feel a bit silly for not thinking about the copyright issue myself – of course, you’re absolutely right.
I really appreciate that you’ll highlight the differences whenever you come across them. I’ll just read the version I have, and that will be perfectly fine for me.
I saw this review on Amazon and wondered how you would respond: "This version does not include several pages on Alexei's dream (see translation by Michael Glenny in Lesley Milne's book on Bulgakov). It also does not say who the translator is or the date of original publication (the copyright page is missing), but I guess it's the 1971 edition, which is the one Milne says deleted the dream sequence. There's nothing there but an ellipsis -- no explanation of mention that something has been deleted. The Russian text has the whole thing."
Interesting. Here’s a pertinent paragraph from the extra material section in Roger Cockrell’s translation:
“The White Guard, was written between 1922 and 1924, but it received numerous substantial revisions later. It was originally conceived as the first volume of a trilogy portraying the entire sweep of the post-revolutionary Civil War from a number of different points of view. Although this first and only volume was criticized for showing events from the viewpoint of the Whites, the third volume would apparently have given the perspective of the Communists. Many chapters of the novel were published separately in literary journals as they appeared. The ending—the dreams presaging disaster for the country—never appeared, because the journal it was due to be printed in, Rossiya, was shut down by official order, precisely because it was publishing such material as Bulgakov's. Different pirate versions, with radically variant texts and concocted endings, appeared abroad. The novel only appeared complete in Russian, having been proofread by the author, in 1929 in Paris, where there was a substantial émigré population from the Tsarist Empire/USSR.”
The copyright page in my Glenny translation is McGraw-Hill Co 1971 and then “Alexei’s Dream” (C) Michael Glenny 1990.
I am so looking forward to reading this in October as I have not read much Bulgakov.
I also have a question about the missing texts. From what I understand, the 1966 first Russian edition was truncated in several places, and the final chapter was missing entirely. That last chapter was first published in 1988 (!) in the magazine Novy Mir.
My Hungarian translation is based on the 1966 edition, so I can only read the censored version. Could you include all the missing sections in English when we read? Or would that be too complicated? I will also try to find a complete Hungarian version, though I’m not sure one even exists.
Interesting question. I don’t know about including the missing chunks in full in case that’s a copyright violation. I could certainly highlight them though if and when I find them.
I just read this is the extra material section of Roger Cockrell’s translation:
“ It is difficult to give an overall survey of Bulgakov's works, which, counting short stories and adaptations, approach a total of almost one hundred. Many of these works exist in several versions, as the author revised them constantly to make them more acceptable to the authorities. This meant that published versions - including translations brought out abroad - were frequently not based on what the author might have considered the "definitive" version. In fact to talk of "definitive ver sions" with reference to Bulgakov's works may be misleading.”
Thank you so much for your reply! I feel a bit silly for not thinking about the copyright issue myself – of course, you’re absolutely right.
I really appreciate that you’ll highlight the differences whenever you come across them. I’ll just read the version I have, and that will be perfectly fine for me.