The story of a passionate young woman who escapes her stifling marriage through adultery and murder, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is now the basis for an acclaimed new film starring Florence Pugh

Nikolai Leskov is one of the most unique voices of nineteenth-century Russia, with a fascination for idiosyncratic characters, lurid crimes, comic absurdity, spirituality and the joy of pure story. This volume contains five of his greatest short tales, including the matchless masterpiece Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

Translated with an introduction by David McDuff

This volume contains five of his greatest short stories, including the matchless masterpiece Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the tale of a passionate young woman who finds liberation from her stifling marriage in adultery, casual violence and cold-blooded murder.

About the Author

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was born in 1831 in Gorokhovo, Oryol Province and was orphaned early. In 1860 he became a journalist and moved to Petersburg where he published his first story. He subsequently wrote a number of folk legends and Christmas tales, along with a few anti-nihilistic novels which resulted in isolation from the literary circles of his day. He died in 1895.

David McDuff is a translator of Russian and Nordic literature. His translations of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian prose classics (including works by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Bely and Babel) are published by Penguin.

Book Information
ISBN 9780141396743
Author Nikolai Leskov
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 326g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm