The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Confession

16 January 2015

Leo Tolstoy (Author), Peter Carson (Translator)

With an Introduction by Mary Beard

Description

A pairing of Tolstoy’s most spiritual and existential works of fiction and nonfiction from the renowned translator of Turgenev and Chekhov.

In the last two days of his life, Peter Carson completed these translations of The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Confession before he succumbed to cancer. Carson, the eminent publisher, editor and translator who, in the words of Mary Beard, "had probably more influence on the literary landscape of [Britain] over the past fifty years than any other single person," must have seen the irony of translating Ilyich, Tolstoy’s meditation on death and loss, "but he pressed on regardless, apparently refusing to be distracted by the parallel of literature and life." In Carson’s shimmering prose, these two transcendent works are presented in their most faithful rendering in English. Unlike previous translations that have smoothed out Tolstoy’s rough edges, Carson captures the verisimilitude and psychological realism of the original Russian text.

Reviews

"Over the past hundred years we have had numerous versions, from serviceable to excellent, of the major works. This volume, however, is arguably the best so far..." — The Times Literary Supplement

"...this volume which, for all its sombreness of subject, is a vindication of the human spirit." — The Spectator

Also By: Leo Tolstoy View all by author...

Also By: Mary Beard View all by author...

Paperback

9780871402998

140 x 211 mm • 224 pages

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9780871407344

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