Andrei Bely (1880-1934), born Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev, was educated at Moscow University where he studied science and philosophy, before turning his focus to literature. It is accompanied by an introduction by Adam Thirwell discussing the novel's themes, extraordinary style and influence. This acclaimed translation captures all the idiosyncrasies and rhythms of Bely's extraordinary prose. Considered by writers such as Vladimir Nabokov to be one of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century, Bely's richly textured, darkly comic and symbolic novel pulled apart the traditional techniques of storytelling and presaged the dawn of a new form of literature. It is also an impressionistic, exhilarating panorama of the city itself, watched over by the bronze statue of Peter the Great, as it tears itself apart.

'Petersburg' is a story of suspense, family dysfunction, patricide, conspiracy and revolution. But the official is Nikolai's cold, unyielding father, Apollon, and in twenty-four hours the bomb will explode. An impressionable young university student, Nikolai, becomes involved with a revolutionary terror organization, which plans to assassinate a high government official with a time bomb. This 'Penguin Classics' edition is translated from the Russian by David McDuff with an introduction by Adam Thirlwell. Andrei Bely's masterpiece, 'Petersburg' is a vivid, striking story set at the heart of the 1905 Russian revolution.

Petersburg bely